Savin' you is all i'm good at
by kittyxuchiha11
Summary: "So she isn't puttin' up a fight and I'm like, hold on a minute what's going on here? I've got my gun to her head and she- she tells me to bloody kill her! Like this is scary assassin Widowmaker who doesn't feel emotions, and she's just like oh yeah Lena it's no big deal just pull the trigger an' that" Widowmaker is acting strangely and Tracer wants to find out why. Widowtracily
1. Chapter 1

Your pistol is pressed to her forehead when her lips curl up into a smile. At first you think she's going to tease you, give you that annoying smirk and taunt that you can't kill her that easily. Hell, you expected she would have grappled away by now, but she's still just lying there on the ground under you. Her eyes meet yours and your breath hitches in your throat. Her eyes are so sad and the smile on her lips isn't teasing at all. She looks broken, and when her lip quivers you swear your heart breaks.

"Do it" She says, something flashing across her eyes that you can't quite read. She looks broken, and when her lip quivers you swear your heart breaks.

You almost step back from where you have her pinned to the ground as her words hit you. No, no this isn't how it's supposed to go at all. You've fought her so many times before, but you've never gotten quite so close to ending her life. When it comes down to it, you know you simply can't.

You can kill bad people who have done bad things no problem, but she's different. You want to believe she's good really, and it's all Talon's fault for the way she is. After all, they brainwashed her, made her emotionless. But clearly something had gone wrong going by the look she's giving you.

She grabs your gun, pressing it harder against her forehead as she grits her teeth and pretty much snarls at you.

"I said end it!"

This time you do jerk away, surprising both of you. You stumble back off of her, your eyes wide as for the first time in your life you're actually speechless. You want to speak, to say something cheeky and witty, and laugh off the seriousness of the conversation but you can't. She asking you to end her life and as much as you should, you can't.

"I- uh- I'll have to pass on that one, luv" you say stupidly, hoping the incredibly fake laugh you throw in for good measure is at least a little bit believably.

In reply she calmly gets to her feet and just picks up her rifle. She slings it over her shoulder before quickly meeting your gaze again "That's too bad, Cherie" she says, her voice low and even "You should always take the opportunity to kill your pray while they're in your grasp"

You want to say something back to her but you notice the way her eyes linger on you for just a second too long, that sad smile still on her lips rather than the teasing one you're used to. There's something very wrong with her tonight, and although you really shouldn't care, you really do.

"Wait" you find yourself saying, and she actually does. Her eyes are on you and you feel yourself fidgeting under her gaze "Why?"

She just stares back at you, her expression staying the same as her eyes seem to stare into your soul. "Why?" she repeats back at you, the confusion evident in her voice.

"Why are you doin' this? It isn't like ya luv. By now you would've tried to shoot me 'bout five times"

"I'm done playing our game, Cherie. It's no fun playing cat and mouse when the cat refuses to kill"

And with that she's gone. You watch as she grapples to the next building, her skin-tight suit reflecting ever so slightly in the moonlight before she's disappeared into the shadows. You stare dumbly after her, hoping with some sort of dumb luck she'll come back and tell you what's going on. She's always been one of the bad guys to Overwatch, but you know deep down she isn't what she seems at all.

With a sigh, you holster your guns and turn away from where you last saw her. One day you'll figure out what her deal is, but until then you still have your own life to live. Without much thought, you zip across the rooftops towards home, deciding just for tonight you don't want to walk along the streets like normal people do.

After taking a quick detour in some attempt to clear your head, you arrive home at your flat. You find yourself staring at the front door, trying to will yourself to forget about tonight and pretend everything is completely fine. So, you do what you do best and fake a smile before pushing the door open.

"Emily? I'm home" You shout, trying to sound as enthusiastic as possible

"I'm in the kitchen" comes a reply and you find yourself blinking there as quickly as possible. So quickly In fact that you nearly crash into your girlfriend who is humming softly to herself while she stirs what appears to be a cup of tea. She taps the spoon onto the side of the cup twice before dumping the spoon into the sink. By now, she knows not to be surprised when she turns around and you're suddenly standing there. Instead she smiles and hands you the cup in her hands.

"Two sugars, just how you like it"

"What about you-"

"Aw hush, the kettles just boiled I'll make myself one the now"

"Thanks luv" you say with your signature smile and little salute. She seems to look at you strangely for a moment, before turning back to the draining board and grabbing herself another cup. You try not to think too much into that as you make your way through to the living room and plop down onto the couch. As you're sipping on your tea, your mind wonders back to Widowmaker and what tonight was all about. Something about it just doesn't sit right with you at all.

"Hey, budge up" Emily says with a grin as she tries to nudge your legs off the couch. You happily comply, bringing your legs up to your chest and giving her space to sit down. She immediately turns towards you, cup cradled in both hands as she seems to study your face for something. Her eyes are still on yours when she takes a sip from her cup, and for some reason it scares you. The way she's looking at you is so serious, like she wants to say something really important but-

"Rough day, huh?" she eventually says, her eyes peering over the cup still at her lips.

"What?" you ask, trying to brighten your expression but realising that makes your happiness look even more fake than before "What would make ya say that?"

"You would've been talkin' my ear off the moment you got in the door if it wasn't"

"Nah luv, I'm just a bit tired, honest"

"Tired, you?" she says, her eyebrows raised with an amused smile on her lips "Don't think I've ever seen you tired in the entire time I've known ya"

You grin, secretly sort of happy she knows you so well "Okay, okay, you got me. I'm not tired, I'm exhaustedddd" You say, drawing out the word with that stupid grin on your face, it widening when she giggles and places her cup on the coffee table.

"Lena, I love you and all that, but you are the worst liar I've ever met" she says, her eyes on yours once again and you realise that you're not gonna get away with any more excuses. Emily has always been good to you, always listened when you've needed her too. She's still getting used to you going off on missions and fighting dangerous people but she deals with it well. You've lost count of the amount of times you've come home with scrapes and bruises and she's just laughed at you before getting the first aid kit and fixing you up.

"Come on, what's up?"

You think of just making another stupid joke and trying to change the subject but then she touches your hand attentively and looks at you with real concern in her eyes, and you realise you have to tell her. It's not like you could just wait it out and vent to Angela or Winston later, they would give you the biggest lecture for letting widow go, never mind actually considering wanting to try help her.

"It's, well. It's a long story luv, really boring and work related, honest"

"And you always tell me boring work related stories, so spill"

"Okay, right. So, there's this woman, 'er name's Widowmaker and she works for the bad guys-"

"-That purple one you're is always complaining 'bout, right?" Emily says, that amused smile back on her face. You know you've talked about widow before, hell you vaguely remember having a drunken rant on how much of a bitch she was for nearly sniping your ear rings off one day. Not one of your finest moments you have to admit. Especially when you went on to talk about how great her ass was and Emily couldn't stop laughing.

"Yeah, right so normally she's like totally serious and shooting me constantly, but tonight she was way too serious, like she didn't even put up a fight, I had her flat on her back in like two seconds"

"You been wooing other girls Lena; do I have competition now?" Emily says with a smirk and you feel your cheeks heat up at her words and you push her shoulder lightly with a grin.

"Ay, shut it you. I'm trying to tell ya the story"

"Right, right. Go on then"

"So she isn't puttin' up a fight and I'm like, hold on a minute what's going on here? I've got my gun to her head and she- she tells me to bloody kill her! Like this is scary assassin Widowmaker who doesn't feel emotions, and she's just like oh yeah Lena it's no big deal just pull the trigger an' that"

A silence falls upon you both, and for a split second you wonder if you've maybe said too much. Yes, Emily is your partner and cares about you and you're supposed to be able to tell her anything, but this just isn't anything. This is you talking about a woman who has tried to kill you several times, who you want to help even though it stands against everything you're supposed to mean.

"Hmm, you care about her then" Emily simply says, picking up her cup and finishing off the last few drops of her tea. You think on her words, realising for maybe the first time that...yeah, you actually do care about what happens to her.

"It's not…It's not that" You find yourself saying, looking at the white rug spread across the floor "Like, it's just weird that she's suddenly saying this stuff, ya know?"

"You don't believe she's bad at all, you want to help her" she says like it's the most obvious thing in the word. Your eyes snap up to hers but she doesn't look angry, she looks calm and she's giving you that cute little smile you love.

"How do ya always read my bloody mind like that? It's kinda scary luv"

"You're like an open book babe…and you do know you talk about her every single time you fight with her"

You groan, shoving your face in your hands before you can see that knowing smirk you know is going to be on your girlfriend's face. She just laughs, shuffling closer until she's leaning into you and prying your hands away from your face. You take one look at her before your closing the gap between you and pressing your lips to hers. She hums appreciatively and cups your cheek with her right hand. You want to keep kissing her forever, but you know she won't let you cop out of a conversation by doing this.

"You're not mad about this, are ya?" you ask softly, her breath still hot against your lips when a little gush of air passes her lips in a small laugh.

"Why would I be mad?"

"I don' know. It's just such a stupid thing to think, that she's still good and it's Talon's fault she's killin' people and that"

"It's not stupid if you think it isn't. I can't exactly help you, that is unless you want me to set up a trap and catch her in a net" she laughs, her eyes twinkling in that special way they always do "But I'm here for you, whatever you wanna do 'bout this"

"Thanks, luv" you say, giving her a quick affectionate peck on the lips but before you can even try turn it into something more she pulls out her phone and opens her contacts. You lean over her shoulder, watching and she scrolls down her contacts until she gets to Winston's name.

"What're ya doin?"

"Asking Winston to send over all the files on Widowmaker, he'd never give them to you 'cause he knows what you're like. But I bet I can make up some excuse to why I need them"

You grin, pressing a kiss to her cheek "See, now this is why I love you"


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey Lena, you in?"

"Yeah, In here love"

The sound of Emily taking of her shoes and grumbling lightly when you hear her stumble over brings a smile to your lips. You take a quick sip from the mug of tea in your hand before setting it down on the table and trying to focus on what the data pad in front of you says.

You've been reading this for the last half hour and it's possibly the most depressing thing you've ever read. Winston finally, with a lot of persuasion from Emily, sent over the files concerning Widowmaker. And Emily had of course sent them straight to you. So after you'd done all your official Overwatch business, a.k.a watching some boring supplies being transported, you'd rushed back home and opened up the files with such a strong feeling of determination you felt unstoppable. That determination soon dwindled down as the file started to sound more and more like something out of a horror movie. The things Talon had done to widow were horrifying, they made you feel sick to your stomach even reading about them.

Soft footsteps making their way into the room makes you look up to the doorway. Emily is there, her gaze on you with a small smile on her lips. "Interesting read then?"

You just shrug in response, looking back to the words on the page. When you feel Emily slump down beside you on the couch you sigh loudly, eyes closing as you will the headache you can feel coming on to go away.

"That bad, huh?"

"You 'ave no idea, Em" you say quietly, head resting against the back of the couch as you look at the celling blankly.

You don't look at her until she touches your arm. Her fingers gently slide down your forearm until she reaches your hand. With a small hum of approval, you think she's going to take your hand, but instead you find her carefully taking the data pad out of your hands. You open your mouth to say some sort of warning, but you know she won't listen. She may not be as stubborn as you, but when Emily has her mind set on something there's no changing it. You watch her as her eyes skim across the words in front of her, practically feeling the hurt when her face scrunches up as she reads that one bit you know made even you feel sick.

"This is…God this is terrible Lena" she says almost in disbelief as she looks up at you. You don't know what to say so you just nod. She places the pad down on the coffee table in front of the couch and lets out a little sigh. You curl into her, feeling instantly better when she wraps an arm around you and starts to gently brush her fingers through your hair.

"Her name was Amelie then?"

"Seems so, they must'a proper fucked her up to make her go from some ballet teaching perfect wife to a cold-blooded assassin just like that"

"God, I know. have you watched the videos that were attached yet?"

"Nah…Not sure I want to watch them, love. Reading about the torture was about to make me bolk"

"I get that. Winston phoned me before he sent the stuff over warning me that the videos were a bit much. Think he was more worried that you'd see them honestly. I mean, he knows about how interested you are in her"

You find yourself laughing softly at her "How interested I am? Love, you make it sound like I'm trying to date her"

Emily simply grins back at you, pressing a quick kiss to your forehead before detangling herself from you and standing up. "Are we forgetting about the 'Widowmaker's arse is the best arse I've ever seen' conversation?"

"Oi shut up!" you try to say with at least a little bit of anger but the smile on your face just spreads as you see that adoring smile Emily is giving you. You don't know how you got so lucky, finding someone as great as Emily. She's all you've ever wanted and her little smiles light up your entire world.

"I see that dreamy look Miss Oxton, your thinking about her arse right now, aren't cha?

"Nooooooo" you whine, picking up the cushion next to you and hiding your red face in it. You'd rather she think that than know you're thinking about her. It's not that she doesn't know you desire her or love her, she knows that plenty from the fact you could spend days in bed together if your jobs didn't get in the way. You just don't talk about feelings much, your actions speak a hell of a lot louder than words ever could, and Emily seems perfectly fine with that.

"Well I'm gonna get started on tea, spag bol alright?"

"Spag bol sounds great. Guess I better get back to this" you say, picking up the data pad and waving it in her general direction.

"Alright, come bother me if you get too depressed"

You watch her leave and just stare after her for a moment. It's not that you don't want to go back to reading, you obviously want to know everything there is to know about Widowmaker- Amelie, whatever name she goes by. According to the file Talon erased all her past memories as well as her capability to feel emotions. She only knows that she's a weapon for Talon and that's it apparently.

You're just about to turn the page after reading a particularly gruesome report on exactly how she was tortured and brainwashed, when you notice a small piece of text at the bottom of the page linking to a video. It takes you about two second of consideration to decide the video can't be any worse than what you've just read so you click on it and give a tap to the side of the device to enable the sound.

It starts off in pitch blackness, you tap the side a few more times to turn up the volume. That's when you hear the hear the heavy breathing of someone who's obviously in quite a lot of pain. You think you might even hear a few soft sobs but the sound quality isn't the best and the screen is still pitch black so you can't be sure. When the light comes on you almost flinch, the small room is still dull but you can now see someone slumped forward on a chair.

The room slowly starts to get lighter until you can see the bloody broken person trying to push themselves up right against the chair they're tied to. Your breath catches in your throat when she looks right up to the camera with a look that could kill. Her eyes are a different colour and her skin sure as hell isn't blue. But there's no mistaking it, that's Widowmaker sitting there covered in blood and bruises, giving looks that could kill to a camera she probably can't even see.

"Good morning, Widowmaker. I hope you slept well" says a voice somewhere to the right of the camera. She just glares in the direction, her mouth folding into a single straight line as if she's determined not to speak.

"I thought the meds would have kicked in by now. Although how are we supposed to know, you're our first special project like this" A man in his thirties walks onto the camera, slowly stalking around her like an animal hunting his prey. "Still not want to talk, my little spider?"

There's a deafening silence for a few moments as She meets his eye. His calm demeanour suddenly drops and he lunges forwards and grabs her loose hair harshly. It's clear she tries to not make a sound but as her gives her hair a sharp tug she lets out a sharp cry of pain. He backs off looking happy with himself before continuing to walk around her.

"So you can speak. Good, that's good. I was worried those idiot doctors had ripped out your vocal chords. That wouldn't do, now would it? As pretty as it would be to watch, we need you to be able to speak. After all we need you to tell your targets exactly who's responsible for their demise"

"Non" she says it so quickly that you could have easily missed it if it weren't for the dangerous edge to her voice. The man stops in his tracks, although you can't see his face clearly, it's obvious he's surprised.

"No? what do you mean no?"

"No, I will not do _anything_ for you people" she sneers angrily, but instead of retreating the man gets right up in her face and stares her down.

"Listen to me. Your name is Widowmaker, you belong to Talon and you will do-"

"My name is Amelie Lacroix and my husband will be here to kill you any minute now!"

Anger flashes across his face and you watch in horror as he brings his fist back and smashes it into her face. You expect her to cry, to beg him to stop, but she just smirks which infuriates him more. She does it again and again, until blood is dripping from her incredibly broken nose and he's breathing hard. She grimaces as she looks up but the smirk is still plastered on her face.

"For every punch you give me, Gerard will give you twice as many back. When he comes for me, you're _dead_ "

You expect the man to fly into another fury and do goodness knows what to her, but he just straightens up. To both you and Amelie's surprise, he starts to laugh. He's still sniggering when Amelie demands to know what's so funny,

"You poor naive girl, you think he's actually coming for you" You can see the confusion evident on her face before it turns into one of rage.

"What do you mean he's not coming. What have you done to him!?"

"It's Overwatch protocol for agents to not know about private affairs while they're on mission so they stay focussed on the task. Did you forget he was in Egypt and can't be contacted for another two weeks? Maybe the meds are working already"

"That's- that's not a rule, they can't do that….I-I can't remember if that's true!" The panic in her voice is truly unsettling and you find your heart sinking as the realisation washes over her that whatever they're trying to do to her is working.

"Excellent, looks like they are working indeed. We can proceed to stage two sooner than we thought"

"He'll come get me, I know he will. You can't trick me like this!" she's trying to sound so sure of herself but it's obvious she doesn't believe what she's saying. Her façade is gone now and she's no longer this strong woman they can't break. She's this scared little girl who's terrified of them and what they can do.

"Enough chit chat Widowmaker, it's time for a treatment" You can hear some sort of cart being wheeled in and judging by Amelie's reaction you know exactly what it is. Sure enough a cart of medical supplies is wheeled on camera and the man leaves her side to carefully examine the instruments he's been given. Her eyes widen and you see her mouth moving in a silent prayer as he picks up a scalpel and makes give way back over to her.

"Now, let's get into that pretty little head of yours now shall we?"

She shrieks in response, trying to move but her restraints won't let her "Non, no no no no no! stay away from me!"

The video ends on a blood curdling scream as the screen turns to black and the replay button appears. You just stare at it, your eyes wide and your breaths coming out as harshly and panicked as Amelie's were. You push the device away from you, forcing yourself to close your eyes and breathe. After a minute breathing becomes easier and you open your eyes. Your hands are shaking and you feel pretty shit, but you figure you'll live so it isn't that big a deal. Tentatively, you reach for the data pad and tab back to the information. There waiting for you are pictures of Amelie Lacroix smiling happily with her husband. If only she'd known back then that she would become the world's greatest assassin and slit her own husband's throat in his sleep.

There's not that much more to read after that apart from details on missions where Overwatch has encountered her. You remember most these occasions and find it quite…well quite strange to read about her being the bad guy and that you distracted her to save your team. That's never how it feels in the field, never how it felt to start with. When you first met her, you'd treated her as any other talon operative and tried to stick a pulse bomb on her. The moment she grappled away and threw a poison mine at you, you knew she was something different.

You remember trying to ask Angela when she was patching you up if she knew anything about Widow, but Angela had avoided your question completely and hadn't been able to look you in the eye for the rest of the day. Reading the report and seeing how Angela was the doctor to look over Amelie and give the go ahead that she was fine sure explains why she couldn't even look at you. You remember feeling just more intrigued about all then, you were determined to see Widow again and play with her a bit more.

There are several reports talking about how you two always fight but the way they're written make you sound like you're a hero for it all, but you're not. She's never tried to really kill you, she's come close a couple of times but that's just how your game goes now. You make it look good but you swear you've seen her smile during your game of cat and mouse.

You sigh tiredly, standing up and stretching before deciding a bit of fresh air is just what you need. You consider going to the kitchen to see Emily, but you can hear her singing along to the radio in there and don't want to disturb her while she's having fun. You know no matter what you say when you next talk to her, it's going to bring the mood right down.

The metal of the balcony railing is freezing against your hands but you don't really mind. The cool air feels heavenly against your slightly flushed skin. You find yourself leaning lazily on the railing as you look out into the distant lights of the city. You're a good few streets away from the main shops so you don't really get much noise from cars and people, and the lights aren't totally blinding like they are when you're in the city centre. You once lived in a shitty little flat right above a whole bunch of shops and chippies. The noise of cars passing by and the constant chatter of teenagers walking by about drove you mad. And that isn't even going into how no matter what curtains you bought your flat was constantly lit up by the dozens of signs flashing away into the early hours of the morning. There was a reason you worked the evening shifts back then, and surprisingly it wasn't so you could bring girls back to your place and have extra-long lies with them.

You're day dreaming absently, just staring out at the city when a quick flash on a nearby building catches your attention. You rub your eyes, thinking you're just tired or you've been reading way too much, but then you see it again. You stay completely still trying to figure out what it is. And when you do, Your heart hammers away in excitement, but your stomach also sinks. It's a scope being caught in the moonlight, moving in the way she always moves it to get your attention.

You would blink on over there to her if you were wearing your accelerator, but you're not. You think about just shrugging at her and going back inside but that just feels too casual and improper now. You know all these things about her that she probably doesn't even know herself. You desperately want to talk to her, not even to talk about what happened but to ask if she's okay. After all, it was only last week she asked you to kill her.

You stand your ground, giving her a slight nod, as you know for a fact she's watching you through her scope. At first nothing happens, you'd stupidly assumed she'd just come over here so you could have a chat. Yeah, not happening, of course not. It doesn't look like she's going to move at all, but then you see her slowly coming out of hiding. She's in her ridiculous bodysuit as she usually is but she looks almost shy now. When you two play your game of cat and mouse, she always has that teasing smirk or that occasional look of anger when you guess her next step and beat her to it. But now she looks unsure, not cocky or angry, unsure and almost a little afraid of what you're going to do. This is new, very new.

For a split second, you wonder if she knows that you've read her information. But you quickly dismiss that, because really, how would she know? She's probably just acting like this because for the first time in her life she isn't here on an order to kill anyone. That much is clear from the fact she's snooping around the rooftops by your apartment instead of waiting for the perfect kill somewhere.

She grapples a few buildings over so you can see her better, but stays where she lands so she isn't too close to you. You try to say her name to beckon her closer, but what comes out your mouth isn't her name at all "Amelie" you stop yourself before you can say anymore but even from this far away you can see the confusion on her face. Your mind flashes back to that video and how she had the same look when they told her Gerard wasn't coming to rescue her.

You both stare as each other for a few moments before she shakes her head and starts to back off into the shadows once again. You can't let her go, not now. "Wait, Widow-"

"-Lena? Where are you?" You don't turn around at the sound of Emily's voice, some part of your brain telling you quickly to go back inside so Widow doesn't see Emily. But that part of your brain fails to tell your body what to do apparently because you still keep your eyes on Widow even when you hear the balcony door behind you open.

"There you are, was wondering if you'd gone and- Lena, you alright?"

"Yeah, just needed some fresh air after all that reading" You say as you look towards Emily, giving her a small smile and hoping that will reassure her enough. She doesn't say anything, just carefully shuts the balcony door behind her and comes to stand beside you. Your eyes flicker to where Widowmaker was standing only moments ago, but she's gone now. You try not to stare and to not look too disappointed, but Emily doesn't miss a single thing when it comes to you.

"What's up?" she asks touching your arm while she gives you the most sincere look you've ever seen. It makes you smile, even with the gravity of the situation. Without a second thought, you wrap your arms around her and bury you're head in her neck.

"…Lena?"

"It's nothing. I just…God I love you Em"

Emily hums back contently, kissing your hair and rubbing your back soothingly. You swear you hear the sound of Widowmaker's grappling hook grappling away, but it might just be your imagination.


	3. Chapter 3

You're normally a lot more careful. With living in this area for most of your life, you know what streets to avoid and to get off the streets when it's dark. But you've thrown all caution to the wind today because you're in a hurry to get home. You've decided to take a shortcut back to the flat through a neighbourhood which doesn't have the best reputation. It would be fine if you were on your own and could just blink your way home. But with Emily holding your hand and chatting excitedly about some show she wants you both to watch on the telly tonight, you obviously can't.

A strange feeling comes over you as you pass a burnt-out car. So you're a little nervous in case something happens and you have to fight, you always are. But this is a feeling you can't really place. You're just uneasy, on edge. The way your holding onto Emily's hand tighter than usual and not really chatting with her shows that. She does give you one of her concerned little glances, but you squeeze her hand and smile. It seems to satisfy her and she goes back to chatting away.

You think you hear something and stop, trying to determine if what you heard was your own footsteps, or someone else's. "Lena, you alright?" Emily asks gently, looking around as if she knows exactly what you're thinking.

You nod, letting a small sigh pass your lips "Yeah, just thought I heard something, luv"

"Come on, the sooner we get home, the sooner I can make us this hot chocolate" Emily says, lifting the plastic bag in her hand up and rustling it at you with a cheeky smile. You can't help but smile back at her. You've been out shopping for the day and Emily somehow managed to convince you to buy two hot chocolate making kits with nice big mugs and everything. Ever since you left the shop she's been smiling happily and making your heart skip so many beats with how cute she looks. All you want to do is kiss her right now and tell her exactly how cute she is. But the cold chill that bites at the back of your neck knocks you out of your daydream and you realise you're still standing in middle of the worst neighbourhood around.

As you start walking again that feeling comes back. You're trying to desperately place it, and when you do you stop dead in your tracks. You're being watched by someone. Emily turns around, her hand no longer in yours and her eyes wide with fear.

"Len-" you hear her shout before you feel something hit the back of your head hard. You try to blink away but the force of the hit slams you into the ground and you're left face down on the pavement while Emily shrieks in horror.

"Please. Please don't hurt her!" you hear her say, her hands scratching at her bag hurriedly to open it "See, here's my purse. Take it and leave us alone, please"

"You think we just want your purse, babe?"

You hear his tone and know exactly what else he wants. You try to get up but someone stomps on your back hard, and you cry out as you're crushed against the ground once again.

"Lena!"

"That her name then? Ugly name for an ugly dyke" The man sneers, the other guy with him kicks you in the ribs, then the head when you try to strain against him. "Thing is" he takes a few steps towards her "I want to know what your name is"

"Just leave us alone" Emily says with an edge to her voice you've never heard before. You know she can be fierce with the stories she's told you about her work, but you've never heard her sound like this. The man scoffs, taking another step towards her.

"You can tell me and let me have what I want, or" you hear the sound of a switch blade popping out from the man above you "Or your little friend here gets what's coming to her"

You manage to lift your head to where Emily stands. Although your vision swims and your head feels like it's been hit by a ton of bricks, you manage to see the look she's giving you and you know exactly what she's thinking.

"…Alright" she says quietly, her eyes flicking from you to the man now mere inches away from her.

"Emily, no-"

"That's enough out of you!" the guy above you snarls before he gives you a sharp kick to the head. Your head thumps and your vision darkens for just a moment. You think this is it. The great Tracer taken out by a couple of low life thieves because she wasn't careful enough and was too bloody dazed to blink away or recall.

"Let's see you then, darling-" his sentence is cut short by a shot louder than thunder that you've come to know all too well. Your heart stops for a moment, terrified that Emily is next and you can't save her. You can't move, your mind is on the brink of consciousness and your eyes are too heavy to open. Emily's scream brings you back slightly but you can still feel your mind slipping, not able to stay awake for much longer.

You use all your strength to open your eyes, your vision is blurry but it becomes clearer as you notice the terror shining in Emily's eyes. The two men are lying dead on the ground, gunshot wounds right in the centre of their foreheads. If the noise alone didn't give it away, you know exactly who's just rescued you.

Emily's eyes meet yours and she still looks just as scared. You open your mouth to try reassure her, but before you can say anything the sound of a grappling hook grabs your attention. Widowmaker lands with a small thud in front of you, looking down at you with what most would assume is disgust, but by you've learned it's the closest thing to pity she can show.

"Such a foolish girl" you hear her say, her voice as smooth as silk and calmer than you've ever seen her before. You wouldn't think she'd just killed two men and saved her supposed enemy and their girlfriend.

"Ch-cheers, luv" You manage to say, giving her your best grin but she just rolls her eyes and crouches down next to you. You close your eyes and hiss in pain as you feel her roll your over onto your back, not as gently as you would have liked her too. When you open them again she's just staring down as you, it's almost creepy until her eyes meet yours and they soften slightly. You've noticed recently that she's been looking at you like that a lot. Maybe it's some sort of sign that she's warming up to you, trusts you even. But who knows really.

"…Um...Widowmaker?" You hear Emily say nervously as she slowly makes her way over to you both. Widow turns to look at her almost menacingly before she realises exactly who Emily is. You swear you see hurt flash across her eyes but if it does she quickly switches back to her usual emotionless expression she gives everyone.

"Yes?" she answers cooly

"Thank you for helping us. I didn't know what to do, I thought they were going to kill Lena and…"

"You're welcome"

"I'm Emily, by the way. Lena's girlfriend-"

"-I know who you are" Widow all but snaps and Emily seems to actually flinch. The silence stretches out between them for a few seconds before Emily looks away uncomfortably and Widow turns back to you. You can barely keep your eyes open but you manage to smirk as she starts to feels around your front.

"Felling me up eh, luv?"

She scoffs "Don't be ridiculous. I'm making sure you're not bleeding to death. I'd be deeply saddened if our little game got cut short by those delinquents."

"No kidding luv, Thought I was a goner when the 'ad me on the ground like that"

She rolls her eyes, leaning back from you "You talk way too much for someone who should be unconscious by now"

"I know first aid if you need any help" Emily says gingerly from where she's hoovering beside you.

"She's fine" Widow answers, looking at you and tilting her head slightly as if in thought "Possible concussion, but that's it"

"'Hey, I'm not concussed" you protest, trying to sit up to prove your point but you can still barely move. You find Widow and Emily both give you that same look as if neither of them believes you. They seem to notice and catch each other's eye before Emily smiles a gorgeous smile that lights up her whole face. Widow seems to freeze for a moment, watching Emily cautiously. You can see she's pretty unsure what to do, but amazingly she shoots her a little smile back.

The ground your lying on is freezing and it's starting to seep through your clothes and chilling your skin. You would move, but everything hurts and you don't really want to. You know Widow is right in you don't seem to have any serious injuries, you may just be a bit concussed if the dizziness is anything to go off. You bruise like a peach though, so you're probably gonna be black and blue by tomorrow.

A crackling from Widow's com grabs your attention. She presses her finger to it, listening carefully for a couple of seconds before tapping the side of it. "We have to leave; the police are on their way here"

"We?" Emily questions quickly, glancing between you and Widow. Widow just looks at her pointedly before sighing.

"Look around you. There are dead bodies, non?"

"Ah, right" she answers, a blush covering her cheeks as it does when she's embarrassed. You're about to tease her about it when you feel Widow's hands sliding under you and hoisting you up into her arms.

"Whoa luv, what're you doing!?" you say with panic pretty evident in your voice. Your face must be a real picture because Emily laughs at you and gives Widow this massive grin. Widow just rolls her eyes at you both.

"You can't exactly run away from the authorities in your condition, Cherie"

"I could too. I can out run the coopers any day!"

She scoffs in response, already starting to walk in the direction of your flat. Emily follows behind you both, carefully looking around as if she's expecting someone else to attack you. You mainly stick to dark alleyways and back streets to avoid being spotted. After all, it's not exactly hard to miss a wanted Talon assassin just walking around the streets. Your eyes start to droop after a few minutes of walking and you decide it's better to get some rest now, as although you won't admit it to anyone but your head is still killing you.

"Aren't you cold?" Emily starts up, now walking beside widow as she seems to have realised if you trust her then she can. You know she's read all of Widow's file now and seems to be pretty invested in your research. If anything, she seems more enthusiastic about getting Amelie back than you are. It must be pretty weird and exciting for her to actually meet the infamous Widowmaker.

"…What?"

"Your battle suit or whatever that is. You must be freezing your tits off. Think Talon need some lessons in costume design"

You crack open your eyes just the tiniest bit to watch Widow's reaction. As expected, she looks guarded, a little concerned to how much Emily knows about her and Talon, but then she shrugs

"The thermal material helps me from 'freezing my tits off' It's a fine outfit for my job." her lips twitch into a small smirk "It also helps distract certain annoyances. I've caught her staring at my chest more times than I can count"

You really don't remember ever getting caught staring, but you can't really focus on or remember anything right now. You're slowly drifting out of consciousness again but Emily's loud laugh brings you back. You want to open your eyes again to see that massive grin you know will be there, but you really don't have any energy left now. A thought crosses your mind that you need to stay awake to protect Emily from Widow as she is the enemy after all. But you push it away, telling yourself Widow would have killed you both by now if she really wanted to. You know you'll be kicking yourself for it later, but for now you just have to trust her.

You wake up in a dark room with something pushing down on your shoulder. For a second you panic, your eyes blinking rapidly as you try to figure out where you are. Have you been kidnapped? Who the hell would have kidnapped you? Shit, did Widow turn you over to Talon? No, it can't possibly be Talon. If it was, you would be waking up without your mind in your head and in a torture chamber.

After a minute the darkness starts to fade and you can make out little details of the room. By the looks of it, it's your bedroom in your flat. You're home, and safe away from anyone who could hurt you, and of course the weight pushing down on your shoulder is Emily just snuggling into you. You breathe a sigh of relief, looking over to your sleeping girlfriend's face and admiring just how pretty she is. She stirs in her sleep, her arm that's been by her side, reaching out and curling around you protectively. You can't help but smile.

"Em? Em, wake up"

"Hmm" she groans, opening her eyes slowly "Lena? Lena! you're awake. How are you feeling?"

"Eh, not bad. Bit stiff, but I did get stepped on an' all that. How long have I be out for?"

"Oh, like, uh- hold on" Emily replies, quickly reaching over to the bedside table and grabbing her phone. With a touch to the side the room explodes with brightness. Emily groans, trying blindly to turn the brightness down "Ow, bloody blinded myself" she grumbles finally looking back to her phone and squinting a bit at the still pretty bright screen "Been 'bout five hours. You passed out on the way home and I didn't know if to let you sleep or not, but Amelie said to-"

"-Amelie?" you ask, confused to who that could be. It takes you a few seconds to realise she's talking about Widowmaker. You pale as you realise you pretty much fell asleep on widow and left Emily all alone with her. That was a really really stupid idea, anything could have happened.

"Oh god, Em. I left ya alone with Widow, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but it wasn't bad. She pretty much just dropped you off and left"

"She…she did?"

"Ah, yeah. Just dropped you off in the bedroom then was like well gotta go bye"

"Really? No like evil plans or anything…didn't shoot up the couch?"

Emily laughs, a smile gracing her lips as her gently runs a hand through your hair "Nah, you're making it sound like she helped us for her own gain or sumthin'"

"Just, She's dangerous Em, ya know? There's stuff going on with her but it still could have been a trap or maybe she could have had a kill switch, could have hurt you"

"Lena, relax, nothin' happened. She just came here, dropped you off and left. Nothing sinister, nothing bad" She pauses, making that little scrunched up face she makes when she's just thought of something "I think she was defying orders actually, her com was goin' crazy just before she left"

"But nothing happened, she didn't seem totally evil?" You ask, just for clarity. You think she's going to roll her eyes at you and tell you to stop being so worried, but she doesn't.

"Ya know, the way you've been describing her made her seem like this super bad and evil villain. But if anything, she really has jus been drafted onto the wrong side. She's helping you more than she is those Talon guys now. She really cares 'bout you, obviously" Emily says with a small smile.

You can't believe what you're hearing "Whoa, what? She cares 'bout me?"

"God you're oblivious Len" She says with a laugh "Obviously, she does. She wouldn't be sticking her neck out for you if she didn't. She told me to look after you when she left, by the way. To keep you safe and out of trouble"

You don't know how to respond to any of that. You know you want to help her and save her, but the thought that she cares about you too? It just sounds crazy. She's supposed to be an emotionless assassin, she isn't supposed to care about anyone, especially not you. For some reasons the thought of her actually caring makes your heart speed up a little bit, you're confused about that.

"I think she remembers, you know" Emily's voice pulls you out of your thoughts. Her teasing expression is now gone and she has this serious look on her face, you know she's about to go spiralling off into one if her theories just by that look alone.

"Remembers what?"

"'Bout who she is, her husband an' all that. When she told me to look after you, she said it like she failed to do that, or maybe Gerard failed to do that for her"

"You're reading way too into this, luv" you say almost teasingly. It's her turn to pout at you, but a quick kiss to her cheek has her smiling at you fondly as it always does.

"Guess we should talk about this more in the morning. It is 3am after all"

You yawn as if on cue and all Emily does is lift her arm so you can snuggle into her. You do happily, closing your eyes and breathing in her warm familiar scent. It's quiet for all of ten seconds before Emily starts up again.

"You know those guys broke my mugs?" She says softly, her hand gently combing through your hair. You hum in reply and she makes this huffy little noise you think is adorable "Can't believe them. I just wanted to make us nice hot chocolate and those twats ruined it. It would have been the perfect way to thank widow for helping us. Too bad I only found out they broke when she was leavin'"

"I'll buy you more…now get to sleep Em" You mumble, already half asleep thanks to her warmth and the fact playing with your hair apparently makes you incredible sleepy. Before you doze off, you hear her giggle and say something, but you're too tired to care.

The next day Emily finds two mugs identical to the ones her attacker broke lying on the table on your balcony. She thinks you bought them for her, but you don't have the heart to tell her you definitely didn't and you saw someone grappling away from the Balcony this morning.


	4. Chapter 4

A few weeks after the incident you're sitting on an airship carrying you to your destination. It's a simple mission to escort some supplies but you apparently got some intel saying that Talon will be there. So instead of you and a couple of foot soldiers you have a whole bunch of the more well-known Overwatch agents with you. More importantly, Angela is with you and seems to be staring at you a bit too often for everything to be okay. At first you think maybe you've got something on your face, or in your teeth, but that can't be it because if there's one thing you know about Angela it's that she says things how they are to you. After a while, Fareeha comes to sit with you both and Angela seems perfectly distracted with her there. You watch them with a smile while your mind wonders to other things.

You wonder if Widow will be there when you land. There's a pretty high chance she will be since Talon always send their top agents to the job. You just hope it isn't Reaper and Reaper alone they've sent. Last time they only sent him and the whole mission was so boring because she wasn't there. Not that you really want to see Widow or anything. Oh, who are you kidding, yes you do want to see her. You want to convince yourself that you just need to talk to her and ask why she saved you, or even just talk to her to try figure out what's going on with her. But really, you just want to see her and check she's alright. Knowing that she cares about you to some degree has really made you feel differently about her. You're ready to admit you also really care about her, and want to make sure she's safe and happy.

You tap your foot impatiently as the wait until you land seems to be lasting forever. You look up from the floor you've apparently zoned out staring at and see Angela now has her attention back on you. You gulp when you see the look she's giving you, it's the look she always gives you when she has you sussed out. You pray to every god you've ever heard of that she suddenly hasn't become a mind reader and knows you're totally thinking about your supposed arch enemy.

"Lena." The tone of her voice alone lets you know you're in trouble.

"Y-yeah, luv?"

"I know that look" she says eyeing suspiciously "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing luv" you reply way too quickly for it to be believable. She narrows her eyes at you, leaning forward in her seat.

"Lena" her tone is dangerous now. You gulp, knowing you have to say something to get her off your back.

"I'm thinking of writing a book, ya know" you blurt out lamely.

"A book?" she asks, her expression turning to one of amusement.

"Yeah luv, a book. I'm thinkin' of the story an' that. It's gonna be a best seller don't ya know"

"Since when have you written anything, never mind a book?" she asks sceptically, her eyebrows raised and giving a look you know just screams that she doesn't believe a word that's coming out your mouth.

"New year's resolution!"

"It's March"

"Aw, come on luv. Give me a break" you whine dramatically making her laugh softly.

"Okay" She says, a small smile on her lips "what's your so-called book about then?"

"Glad you asked!" You grin, trying to make her think this is totally just some story you're really excited about "It's about this girl right. She's got everything she could ever want, an amazing girlfriend, great job, pretty decent income, you know all that stuff. But then she meets this other girl who she thinks is gonna be real bad for her. Turns out the new girl isn't what she seems at all and they get on really well, even her girlfriend seems to like her. And the main girl, she start to get- you know like confused about feelings an' that for the new girl…not sure how it's gonna end yet"

"Hmmm" Angela says softly, tapping her chin as if in deep thought before she meets your eye "Sounds pretty boring"

"Oh ouch luv" You say clutching four chest dramatically "you just broke my heart and stepped all over my dreams of being a well good author"

She flashes you a smile, trying to hold back her laugh but fails miserably. All it takes is her catching your eye and you both burst out laughing. She tries to cover her mouth with her hand and stop but you wiggle your eyebrows at her and make the silliest face you can and she's gone once again. You're both sitting there giggling stupidly at each other when Fareeha makes her way over once again, a smile forming on her face as she sees you both trying to take calming breaths and failing.

"What's so funny?"

"Lena-" Angela tries to say but interrupts herself with some sort of sound you think is the start of a laugh "She wants to write a book"

"Does she? well we better book it out of here to avoid reading it" Fareeha answers, a coy smile on her face which turns into a giant grin when Angela nearly falls to the floor laughing. You want to be annoyed at how incredibly terrible that pun was but you find yourself laughing with them.

"Oh man" you say wiping tears from your eyes "That was soooo bad"

"I do try my best, and she loves them" Fareeha answers with a shrug, placing a hand on a now much calmer Angela's shoulder.

You watch the two of them for a moment, almost in awe. The way Angela is looking at Fareeha is so full of love and happiness that you find yourself not able to look away. A thought crosses your mind that you wish someone would look at you like that. But you know Emily has looked at you like that, and you sure as hell know you look at her like that all the damn time. But as you watch them there's this tiny thing gnawing at the back of your mind. You want to push it away but it's quite literally eating away at your thoughts. You love Emily, hell you love her more than you've ever loved anything in your life, but something isn't there. It used to be fine and everything felt right but something is off now and you can't figure out what. You have a funny feeling that it's definitely something to do with Widow though.

The pilot's voice coming over the speaker pulls you out of your thoughts and informs you you'll be landing in a few minutes. You stare at the floor, trying not to let your mind wonder too much but it seems impossible. There's only one person on your mind, and when you finally touch down you practically run to the door when it opens.

"Tracer, remember your orders?" A rough voice that stops you in your tracks says. You turn towards him, giving the masked soldier a nod and a small smile.

"Scout ahead for any Talon agents and report back, sir" you reply trying to sound as serious as you can. You know a certain level of professionalism is expected of you even if it isn't like you at all.

He nods, slinging his pulse rifle over his shoulder "Be careful Keep your com on" you give him a grin and little salute before turning towards the door again. You've already blinked away when you hear him shout after you to call for back up if you need it. You know you won't be needing back up if everything goes your way.

It doesn't take long for you to find a few Talon foot soldiers gathered by the supply storehouse. They're either incredibly stupid or had no idea you'd be there because they seem completely oblivious to your presence until you've blinked right into the middle of them, a pulse bomb already in your hand.

"Alright lads, havin' fun?" you ask with a grin before shoving the bomb on the closest one and recalling out of there. There's a sharp shriek from one man before the bomb explodes and the majority of them fall to the ground. The surviving ones seem too surprised to shoot you quick enough and with a few burst from your gun, the five or so men are down.

"Aw just when I thought you guys would be a challenge" you say with a laugh before blinking away to find more foot soldiers. You come across a few more, picking them off slowly and then reporting back to your team that you've cleared a path.

"Good job Tracer, rendezvous back at the storehouse" Soldier says as calm as ever. You can hear the rest of your team preparing to move out over the mic. It's mostly just mumbled words but then you hear Angela's laugh and you know Fareeha's making more bad puns to keep the team in high spirits.

You're making your way to their location when your com crackles to life "Tracer!"

"Yeah luv?"

The sound that you no longer fear echoes around the surrounding buildings before you hear a reply from your team.

"Sniper. Has us pinned down. Can you relieve us?"

"Course I can, Tracer out!" you say with probably way too much enthusiasm. It's pretty obvious to everyone that you have a strange fascination with Widowmaker. Luckily, they all just think you like to fight her, that you guys have some real intense rivalry. If they knew the truth you know they wouldn't let you be near any sort of mission where there was a possibility she'd be there. You intend to keep them in the dark for as long as you can. Well, until you can find some sort of evidence that she isn't really evil and that you need to rescue her if she does in fact want or need rescuing anway.

Another shot rings out, hitting just close enough to where your team is behind cover to keep them there, but nowhere near close enough for any lethal shots to be made. You know she isn't trying to kill anyone. A strange feeling stirs in your stomach and you think that maybe she cares about you that much that she doesn't want to kill anyone close to you. Or maybe you're just over thinking things way too much and she really is just wanting to keep them pinned down until reinforcements arrive. Either way, you need to get up there and stop her to both keep up an appearance to your team, and because you want to talk to her.

You manage to make your way to the rooftops, a smile pulling at your lips as a sloppy shot wizzes past your head. She's still several rooftops away, but you can see by the way she has her rifle now slung cockily over her shoulder she's more than ready to play your game. You blink forward, rapidly closing the distance between you both firing a few shots at her feet and grinning when she simply sidesteps them.

"Aw, not wanting to do your fancy acrobatics for me today luv?" you ask teasingly, watching a small smile pull at her own lips.

"Non, wouldn't want to waste my energy on an annoyance"

"Ouch, tryin' to kill me with insults instead?"

"I could use bullets if you prefer, Cherie" she says, her voice calm and expression neutral, although there's this wild sparkle in her eyes.

You grin "That'll be more fun"

"If you prefer to dance, we can dance"

"Wouldn't have it any other way"

You make the first move, blinking forward and spraying bullets at her. She easily dodges and whips her rifle up to fire a few pot shots at you. It's an un spoken rule now that you won't ever injure each other seriously, after all as she pointed out when she saved you, the game would end if one of you ended up dead.

She turns a bit too harshly when you blink to the side and nearly loses her balance, you use the opportunity to charge her and before you know it you have her on her back pinned to the ground. You're both breathing heavily just staring into each other's eyes. At first you think she's going to smack you and try get free but she falls limp under where you have her body pinned and she just looks up at you with a strange expression. You grin, trying not to over think everything, but it's pretty hard with her this close to you and looking at you the way she is.

"Okay" You start, seeming to bring her back to reality. She blinks once, twice, her eyes on yours once again and the ghost of a smile on her lips "think you owe me an explanation"

"Explanation for what?"

"The other week. Ya know, when you quite literally swept in and rescued me an' all that"

She shrugs, well as well as she can shrug under your weight "I explained my reasons at the time did I not, non?"

"You can't seriously tell me that ya just saved me because you like fighting me"

"I've killed countless people and none have put up half the struggle you have" she says softly, her voice smooth "Besides, if anyone were going to kill you, it would be me Cherie. I wouldn't let some low life take your life"

"Alright alright, you can say all that, but what about Emily"

She seems to actually freeze up at that for a moment, for once actually showing some sort of human emotion. "She…She is special to you"

"You got that right, by why should that matter? You're my enemy, you're supposed to use my weaknesses against me, aren't ya?"

You're about to go on about how she should have killed you a thousand times before this but then you look into her eyes and see the first genuine emotion you've ever seen her show. Sadness, or something like it is shining in her eyes so strongly that you actually find yourself backing off her slightly. She takes the opportunity to sit up and you realise you're pretty much sitting in her lap. You try not to think about it too much and hide the blush spread across your face. If she notices she doesn't say, although she does look rather lost in thought, you're not sure she really does notice at all.

"Cherie" she all but whispers, her hand moving towards your face. At first you think she's going to hit you, but then you feel her fingertips slowly tracing down your cheek. Your eyes widen as do hers and she immediately takes her hand away, trying to scoot back to create some space between you both. You open your mouth to try say something, anything about what just happened but she beats you too it.

"I won't be what they've tried to make me be" is all she says and it takes you a moment to get exactly what she means.

"But you're Widowmaker luv. As in deadly assassin will kill you if you look at her wrong Widowmaker"

"I am, always will be. But there are things I have control over" she says softly, her eyes now on the ground next to where her hand is "I won't become the monster they tried to make me. I had no control over what happened to Gerard but…I felt every emotion which came with it"

"Amelie" You say, realising too late that you've used the name you didn't think she even remembered. Something which looks like fear crosses her face and she interrupts you.

"Amelie Is dead, she has been for a long time. Her memories are gone but her emotions are still under the surface. Without the treatments, they come up so strongly that- that sometimes I can't breathe. They're suffocating, the compassion and kindness. It's like she's in my head and won't leave"

You don't know what to say to any of that. There's this tiny little voice in your head saying you should be celebrating that you and Emily's theory that she still remembers and feels Amelie's emotions is right, but really you don't feel like celebrating right now. You stumble back off of her, getting to your feet and watching as she still keeps her eyes on the ground. You swear you see a tear drop from her face, but if she's crying she's doing an incredibly good job hiding it.

"Hey…so how about you shoot me and we'll call it quits for today?" you ask, trying to lighten the mood. It seems to work at least a little bit because she scoffs and actually looks up at you. She's giving you her best glare but you can see this secret little smile you've learned is only reserved for you. You stick out a hand to her to help her up, and after a moment of hesitation she takes it. She barely puts her weight on you but you understand it's definitely more of a gesture rather than she actually needs the help. You're both standing there, eyes locked on each other, and for the first time this incredible urge to hug her comes over you. You stomp it down, telling yourself she could very easily stab you and kill you right there or something, but you know deep down the real reason you won't make a move like that.

Suddenly her head whips violently to the left. You follow her gaze, seeing nothing, and turn back to her to ask her what's wrong. She shoves you hard and you practically fly across the roof top, sliding to a stop on your side behind a small half wall decently far away from where you were just standing. You're about to get up and ask her what the hell that was about when you hear a deep voice calling out to her.

"Widowmaker, did you get rid of our little pest?"

"She got away, as usual" She replies back simply, keeping her eyes on the dark showy figure making his way over to her. He seems to sense you watching them and snaps his head in your direction. Luckily, you're just out of sight and he only spends a couple of seconds surveying the area before turning back to his colleague.

"Have you found it yet then?"

"Non, I haven't"

"You've been watching her for the last three weeks now, you must have found something"

"I haven't…Lena Oxton has no weaknesses"

He takes a step closer, his hand grabbing her chin roughly and forcing her to look at him. "I don't believe you. You're hiding something from me, and that means hiding valuable information from Talon, you know what the punishment for keeping secrets is"

She stares him down, looking damn scary before she practically snarls at him. "Remove your hands from me before I put a bullet in your head"

He scoffs, standing off to her for a few more seconds before dropping his hands "They could never wipe that attitude from you no matter how hard they tried. Maybe another treatment will stop your disobedience for another few months"

"We both know you don't have the authority to issue those orders. You can threaten me all you want, but it won't get you anywhere"

He grumbles something under his breath that you can't hear, but you can tell by Widow's reaction it isn't anything good. They stand there in silence for a couple of moments before Reaper speaks up again.

"Last chance since you know exactly what Talon will do to you if you've failed this mission. What is Tracer's weakness?"

Widow looks straight at him, the fiercest expression you've ever seen on her face "Lena Oxton has no weaknesses, and I will no longer try to find one"

With that she shoots her grapple hook onto the next building and makes her escape. Reaper tries to make a grab at her when she swings past him but she's too fast. He makes this deep sort of growl noise in the back of his throat and starts grumbling to himself about how he's like a glorified babysitter before he disappears in a puff of smoke.

You're left sitting there dumfounded at what you've just witnessed. If there was any doubt in your mind that she cared about you it's now gone. She's straight up lying to the organisation who have literally brainwashed her so she tells them everything. You're not sure if Emily made such a lasting impression or if Widow cares about you a little bit more than she's letting on. Either way you stand up filled with a new determination to rescue Widow and help her at least remember who she used to be.

The rest of your mission goes off without a hitch thanks to the lack of any Talon agents at all. The team all happily celebrate when back on the ship and on the way home. You pretend to be happily celebrating with the rest of them, but the only thing on your mind is What Widow had told you, and how you can possibly help her.

After half an hour of people chatting happily to you, you can't take it anymore and nip the bathroom with your phone in hand. Once the door in locked and you're slumped helplessly against the wall just staring at your phone in despair, you know there's only one person in the world who can comfort you at such a time. You press a few buttons and hold the phone to your ear. It rings once because she picks up.

"Em, ya won't believe what just happened luv"


	5. Chapter 5

You've never been one for sappy romantic things, but sometimes you put up with them for Emily's sake. Like your idea of the perfect date is chilling around in your underwear while cuddling on the couch and maybe watching a movie. You remember once mentioning this and Reinhardt doing that big laugh he does and saying you prefer to 'Netflix and chill', whatever that means. You're not good with date ideas apart from the really boring ones, like a nice dinner somewhere or going to see a show. And even then, you don't enjoy those. You feel so out of your depth, having to sit somewhere surrounded by people with this worry someone will recognise you and make a scene. Emily seems to like it when you make an effort though, so you do try just for her.

Today you're going along with her idea to have a picnic in the park. You like the park and you like food so really, it's a good call and Emily knows it. So, that's how you find yourself lounging on a soft blanket laughing softly as Emily tries to dramatically feed you grapes. You sit up and grin at her which makes her forget her grape feeding duties and lean forward to kiss you. You hum happily into the kiss, tilting your head, and cupping her face with your hand. You feel her lips twitch into a smile as you stroke her cheek with your thumb and the world suddenly becomes so much brighter. With all food laying forgotten and you now both just lying there kissing lazily the world feels on fire but in the most perfect way. Everything is destroyed and broken around you but you don't care because you have this gorgeous girl in your arms makes everything okay again.

"Missed you" she whispers, lips trailing down to you neck where she plants a few soft kisses before simply staying there and breathing in your scent. You've been away for the last month basically and you know it's been hell for both of you. Just after your last meeting with Widow you were called away on a really important mission you couldn't turn down that was supposed to take a week tops but ended up taking three instead. You'd kept in contact with Emily all the while, keeping her updated on what was going on but it wasn't the same as having her beside you obviously. You've barely had time to talk to her at all, in fact today's your first day off in ages and you're so glad you're spending it with her like this.

"Missed you too, luv" you say softly, kissing the top of her head and pulling her closer to you. She makes some sort of content noise before snuggling into your shoulder and closing her eyes. The silence that follows is comfortable, you both just lying there feeling as safe and secure as ever in each other's arms. As much as you hate romantic stuff, you'll always love this. It isn't cheesy and it isn't stupid, it feels wonderful and you honestly didn't know love could feel this great until you meet her.

"Lena?" Emily says, her voice a bit muffled because of how she still has her face pressed against your shoulder.

"Hmm?"

"We haven't talked about it yet, you know?"

You blink up at the late afternoon sun in the sky, letting her words set in before turning your head to see she's now moved away from you slightly, just enough so that she can try look you in the eye. When her eye does catch yours she doesn't look all that content and happy as you thought she was. A small burst of panic hits you that you've done something wrong, until you suddenly understand exactly what you're talking about.

"Ya mean 'bout Widow?" you ask, getting a small nod in response "Guess we didn't really get to talk 'bout it, did we?"

Emily sits up, crossing her legs and facing you with a small smile on her lips. Obviously she wants to talk about it. Of course she does, you never got to explaining exactly what happened last time you saw the assassin and exactly what you learned. Sure, you said a little on the phone but you said you'd fill her in on it all when you got home. Getting home never happened thanks to that second urgent mission, so yeah, this conversation is pretty overdue.

You sit up as well, trying to figure out where to start. Somehow 'oh yeah so like she remembers what she did and feels Amelie's emotions and it's messing her up pretty bad' doesn't seem to cover it fully. But that is it really, in its entirety, but there's so much more than that. She's a person, they tried to make her into a weapon but she's a real live living person who although they tried to make her emotionless it didn't work and now she's suffering.

"Hey, don't look so scared" Emily says with a teasing smile "I wanna talk about this. Say whatever you need to"

"What if what I've gotta say isn't what you wanna hear" you reply back, more to yourself than to her. You see her shrug, then reach out and cover your hand with hers. Your eyes meet and she just smiles that wonderful reassuring smile that always puts you at ease.

"So, she remembers then?" Emily asks, saying it more like she's trying to prompt you to talk than actually asking the question. You nod, lacing your fingers together and squeezing her hand in some sort of attempt to communicate exactly how you feel on this. Amazingly she seems to understand, although she's always been good at reading you. She says you're like a book, always open no matter how much you try to close yourself off to the world.

"This is kinda like one of those mystery drama things on the tele, you know" she says with a smile, the excitement already twinkling in her eyes and you know she's about to launch into her detective role any second now.

Apparently being a journalist makes her like a detective she'd once told you when you started dating. The about of Sherlock Holmes jokes made after she'd said that was too much to bear. You thought she might have just broken up with you on the spot when you started making all those stupid jokes, and yet she laughed along and just grinned at you like it was the funniest thing she'd ever heard. You knew then that she was something else, no one could ever put up with you the way she does.

"Day dreaming isn't gonna help us babe" you hear her say as she gives your hand one final squeeze before pulling away. You smile sheepishly and she rolls her eyes dramatically, making you both giggle childishly. "Right, so she remembers some stuff, like with her husband and that" you nod "and she remembers what Talon has done to her, right?"

"Guess so" you say with a little shrug "She didn' exactly say it like that. Just said she doesn't want ta be the monster they tried to make her"

"Hmm" Emily hums thoughtfully, drumming her fingers on the blanket beneath her while she looks to the side "How'd you even get her to talk about it?"

You're about to answer straight off the bat that you questioned Widow about why she saved you, but then stop when you remember exactly how the conversation went. That strange feeling comes back to you as you remember how she froze up and visibly stiffened at the mention of Emily's name. how she tried to simply avoid the question by saying that Emily is special to you. It's pretty obvious that she cares for you to some degree, everything she said last time shows that, but for the first time you realise that maybe it isn't just you she cares about at all.

"It…it was you, luv"

"What?" Emily asks softly, the smile on her face faltering at your tone.

"I asked her why she saved me an' she used that same excuse of 'oh we wouldn't be able to fight if you were dead' and I was like well that's all good an' all but what about Emily and she…she just stopped. Like full on froze like I'd said somethin' 'orrible"

"That's weird" she says, her face scrunching up as she obviously tries to think of why Widow would have such a reaction to you just saying her name. After all, as far as Emily is concerned, she just thinks of herself as your partner in crime for this, that she's just trying to help.

As you watch her, you try to think of exactly what Widow had said in reply to you "she said you're special to me, I think. Like she was all hesitant an' that and said it like she…I dunno. It was weird, it was the like the first emotion I've ever seen 'er show"

"That's gotta be 'cause of Gerard, right?" Emily says like it's the most obvious thing in the entire world.

"Huh?" Is all you can answer with.

"I'm special too you, just like Gerard was to her. And she said she doesn't wanna be the monster Talon tried to make her be. She remembers the pain she felt when she was forced to kill Gerard, and doesn't want you to go through that" She grins "Lena, she remembers it all, we were so right!"

"That's not exactly a good thing, luv"

"But it is. Now we know she remembers we can play on that and maybe even try convince her to join the good guys saying we'll help her and-"

"-Em, stop" she does stop, her eyes still wide with excitement but her smile slowly fading as she hears your tone and see's the serious look you must have on your face just now. "She isn't some play thing we can just fix. She needs our 'elp yeah, but we still need to be careful"

"I know" she answers, her eyes now downcast and you swear you feel your heart break a little bit "I just want to help her, and I know you do too. I get you're worried but…There's something good still left in her, I can feel it"

You just stare at her for a few moments, not really sure what to say. You agree with Emily, of course you do. The whole reason this has happened is because you think you can save Widow and she isn't all that bad…which reminds you, you haven't even told Emily the most important part of what happened last month.

"She's lying to Talon, ya know"

"What?" Emily asks, her eyes meeting yours and you see that little spark of determination already there.

"That creep Reaper showed up and asked 'er if she'd found my weakness yet and is like 'you've had three weeks to watch her and you-"

"-She was watching us?" Emily asks, giving you this look you know means you're in trouble for not telling her that sooner.

You shrug, trying not to think on the fact that maybe Widow only saved you that day because she was there to watch you on orders. "According to him, yeah. She was supposed to be watchin' me to see if I had any weaknesses or somethin'"

"And I'm your weakness" Emily answers on cue, visibly paling as she seems to realise for the first time the danger she's in just being with you.

"Yeah, and she found out about you weeks ago…months even" Emily nods, swallowing loudly as she nervously looks at you "But she 'asn't told Talon, that's the thing. Reaper was right up in 'er face giving her grief and she just tells him I don't have any weaknesses and she won't try find them anymore"

"That…That's good, right?" Emily asks, the colour returning to her cheeks slowly as she starts to figure out everything her head "She doesn't want us to get hurt, she's lying to protect us. Babe she…she could get in so much trouble for this, we need to help her!"

"Em, I just said we need to be careful, we can't just-"

"-I get it" she says, a defensive edge to her voice you've only heard a couple of times "I get she's dangerous and you're worried, but she's sticking her neck out for us. They're gonna figure it out evenentually and do all that terrible conditioning stuff to her again if we don't help"

"I know, luv" you reply, placing your hand over hers "But we can't do it ourselves, we need 'elp. If we can prove all this to Overwatch then they'll help us eventually"

"Yeah, yeah. You're right. I mean, really what could just the two of us do?" Emily says with a small laugh, obviously trying to diffuse the tense atmosphere the conversation has caused. Silence stretches out between you both and you can't help but sigh.

"Come on luv, let's call it a day before it gets too dark. Wanna get a chippy on the way home?"

Emily grins "I'm so glad you know food is the way too my heart"

You don't really feel like smiling at all but her smile is so infectious, and you find yourself grinning back at her as you help gather up your belongings and shove them back inside your backpack. It doesn't take long to tidy up, although you would have been done a hell of a lot quicker if Emily hadn't tackled you to the blanket and spent five minutes making out just so she could give you that smirk she always does when you get flustered. She knows you too well, and knows that kissing you will definitely always cheer you up no matter what. It's a bit scary how well she has you sussed out actually, but you just go with it because well really, who's gonna say no to getting with a gorgeous girl.

After Emily is finally done teasing you about the blush still spread across your cheeks it's already getting dark. With your backpack settled comfortably on your back and Emily giving you that teasing smirk you know you can't wait to get home and cuddle up with her. Your trek through the slowly darkening park it's particularly exciting, that is until Emily spots some squirrels and runs off to try give them some left over nuts. You watch her with a smile, almost laughing to yourself when she pouts at a squirrel who runs away instead of coming closer. She stands up, pout still on her face as she makes her way back over to you.

You reach out a hand to pat her arm comfortingly when you see something glinting out of the corner of your eye. Your head snaps to the right, your eyes scanning the trees for whatever it was you'd just seen. There's nothing there, or doesn't appear to be anyway. It's been a long day and you're tired, you're probably seeing things because it certainly can't have been what you thought it was. Must have been a bird or something you manage to tell yourself as you turn back to Emily.

"Babe look, there's a whole bunch of them over there. Go on, you try" she says, pointing to a bunch of about four squirrels all sitting under a tree and then handing you a handful of nuts. You don't particularly want to get your hand bitten off by a small furry animal, but they're cute and it'll make Emily incredibly happy if you do manage to get one to come over so you better try. You slowly walk over to the tree, crouching as you get closer and hold out the nuts in the palm of your hand.

"Hey lil' fella's, how're doing?" you say softly, watching as the squirrels slowly turn their heads and look at you with caution "I'm not gonna hurt you, just got some nice snacks for ya"

Slowly, but surely, the smallest of group starts to move towards you. You can't help but grin as this little furry creatures creeps towards, still scared out its mind but trusting you enough to come closer. "Come on luv, y'know you want these" you say, making some strange sort of noise to try coax the animal closer. It works amazingly, and the squirrel cautiously comes closer and closer until it's staring down at the food in your hand. It looks up at you then quickly grabs a single nut and runs back to the rest of them. You watch it eating with a smile on your face, placing the rest of the nuts on the ground for the rest of them.

"Did you see that Em? It took it right out my hand!"

When you don't get a reply, you stand up and turn towards Emily except- except Emily isn't there anymore. You look around, trying to figure out if she's seen some other animal and gone to pet it or something, but she's nowhere to be seen.

"Emily, luv? Where are you? Hide an' seek isn't fair when it's dark"

The panic starts to set in a little bit when you don't even hear a giggle or anything in return. Where the hell could she have gone? You start to walk towards the bushes to your left, Emily's known hiding spot when she has decided to hide and try scaring you by jumping out, when something grabs your attention. You walk up to the item lying in the grass, your stomach dropping when you realise what it is.

"Em!" you shout, crouching down to pick up her handbag from the ground "Emily this isn't funny!"

You look around, spinning in circles with your eyes wide and your heart pounding in fear. What happened to her? Did someone take her without you noticing? That shouldn't be possible she was standing right next to you how does-

"Lena!"

Hearing her voice both panic and relieves you at the same time. Without even thinking, you blink in the direction the sound came from, finding yourself in a patch of trees almost in complete darkness thanks to how thick they are.

"Em-"

"Babe, over here"

You make your way towards her voice, having to stop yourself from pulling out your gun that you've now started carrying with you everywhere when you see who's with her.

"Are you okay?" you start fussing, pulling Emily towards you get a better look at her "You 'bout gave me bloody a heart attack"

"Sorry" she says sheepishly, her lips twitching into a small smile before she looks over her shoulder to where a certain assassin is standing with her usual emotionless expression. "I thought I saw a cat over here and wanted to pet it. She grabbed me"

You narrow your eyes at Widowmaker, who simply shrugs in return like she's done nothing wrong "What the hell are you going just going around kidnapping people's girlfriends!?"

"I didn't kidnap her, cherie" she replies softly, a hint of amusement in her voice "I just needed to get your attention"

"And you couldn't just, you know, maybe like tapped me on the shoulder or somethin'?"

"You're armed. I didn't want to frighten you and have you accidentally shoot me" she says completely dead-pan which Emily thinks is hilarious obviously because she snorts. You don't want to let Widow know just how right she is so you cross your arms stubbornly and stare her down.

"What were you even doing hiding in the shadows over here?"

"I'm an assassin, I'm supposed to stay in shadows"

"And a sniper so I expect you to be up high-" you stop, realisation dawning on you "Oh bloody hell that was you in the trees watching us, wasn't it"

There's a definite smirk on her face now as she answers you "Maybe"

You make an annoyed noise at the back of your throat and Emily simply giggles, obviously loving watching you and Widow bicker like this.

"What are you doing here?" Emily asks after a few seconds of silence, shifting her gaze from you to Widow. Widow's smirk disappears instantly and you see something in her eyes which you can't read. Emily seems to notice to and casts you a quick glance before putting her eyes back on Widow.

"I have some important information concerning Overwatch"

"And you tracked us down to a park, on my day off, to tell me it?" You ask, putting great emphasis on the fact it's your day off. It gets a smile from Emily, but Widow just scowls at you.

"If it did not actually concern you, I wouldn't have taken the risk of finding you, cherie. Do you ever think before you speak?"

You swear you hear Emily whisper 'burned' quietly but you're way more focussed on what Widow could be talking about. The fact she's taking a risk makes you think that she's definitely not supposed to be here and Talon won't be happy to find her gone. Or maybe her being here with you is a risk itself.

"What going on, luv?" you ask gently, noticing the fact that Widow looks almost frightened. She shakes her head, her blank expression soon returning before she speaks.

"Talon plan to attack Overwatch"

"They do that every other night, why's this special?

She shakes her head again "Non, not in the battlefield" she sighs, her eyes meeting yours "Before your recall, Reaper tried to steal information on Overwatch's agents. He was stopped, but Talon has been pushing more and more for that information. They want personal records on all agents so they can find and destroy them all"

"Why'd they need our data? Surely if they wanted to pick us off an' kill us, they'd just send their own agents to-"

"-They already tried that, didn't they?" Emily interrupts, getting a nod from Widow in response "That was supposed to be your job, wasn't it? Find Lena's weakness and use it to destroy her"

The last few months of your teams constantly finding Talon agents everywhere they've went suddenly makes sense. You feel sick to your stomach when you realise that all this time you and all your friends were in incredible danger. It also makes you realise just how incredible lucky you were to have Widow assigned to you, because both you and Emily would have been dead months ago, if not.

"They…They have plans for certain agents" Widow says, breaking you out of your thoughts.

"Plans?" you ask unsurely, not liking the way she's said it at all.

"Conditioning, brainwashing. Everything they did to Amelie to make her who I am today"

You swear you feel your heart stop. No, no you won't let that happen to any of your friends. If watching videos of a girl you didn't even know go through that hell was too overwhelming, what would happen to you if your friends were forced through it? You'd break, simply as. If Angela, or anyone else you cared about was turned into a monster made only for killing you wouldn't be able to live with yourself knowing you could have prevented it.

"They want to do that to Lena, don't they?" Emily suddenly asks, her voice breaking on your name "You were supposed to find her weakness and use it to break her so she'd be susceptible. You…you were supposed to kill me"

"Oui" Widow simply answers, her eyes on the ground instead of on Emily's now. Emily takes a shaky breath in but holds her head high.

"Well fuck 'em, that isn't happening" Widow's head shoots up in surprise at Emily's harsh words. She was obviously expecting Emily, and probably you, to freak out and tell her to never come near either of you ever again. But instead Emily is now reaching for Widow's hand and she can't conceal her surprise When Emily squeezes her hand and Smiles.

"You're not a bad person. They made you a bad person and we're gonna give 'em hell for it!"

Both you and Widow watch in disbelief as Emily goes off on a rant about how Talon are all evil dicks and Overwatch is going to get them all. Of course Widow is most surprised When Emily looks right in her eyes and tells her with a giant smile on her face we're going to save her from Talon. At first there's no Reaction, Widow is just staring at Emily looking more confused than anything, but then this smile appears. It's not an uncomfortable smile, or a snarky one, but a real proper smile. And god, does a smile look good on her.

You hate to ruin the moment, but there's something niggling at the back of your head that you need to ask. After all, you can't just completely trust her simply because she hasn't killed either of you yet. Yes, this information is valuable if it's right. You know you'll get in a lot of trouble if you give the higher ups info that iSs incorrect, and it definitely could be coming from Widow. She's still with Talon and still under their control technically. "How did ya even find out about all of this?"

She seems to think before answering, perhaps choosing her words carefully "I have what you could call a friend within Talon. She is a hacker, and someone who's using Talon for her own motives. She's taken an interest in me, or should I say an interest in us"

"Us?" you ask softly.

She nods "She doesn't like to play by the rules and loves that we've-" She stops, looking from you to Emily, then back again "That I've chosen to help you. She has been looking out for me, making the system say I've had treatments and wipes when I haven't. It's made me more…human, as you can tell by all these emotions and such"

"Well that explains a few things" Emily says, nodding like she's piecing everything together. You do have to agree though, it does make sense. Everything leading up to this has been because Widow started to show emotions when you fought. It also makes you feel a tiny bit more at ease knowing she has someone looking out for her in there.

"Why did you tell us all this?" you ask, even catching yourself of guard by how sudden and defensive it came out. Emily shoots you a look as if to say stop it, but you can't you need to make sure. "If Talon really are going to attack the watchpoint and kill everyone inside, steal all the data an' all that, why would you tell us?"

"I'm not a monster, cherie" She starts, her voice not as smooth as it normally is "Talon has done enough damage. It's taken countless lives, Amelie's included and I won't let it take Overwatch as well"

The silence that follows her words is deafening, and you almost feel bad for making her say that. She's trying to look cool and composed, but you can see the hurt in her eyes when you look. Yet again, that overwhelming urge to hold her in your arms comes back, but you can't, you shouldn't. Even if Emily wasn't standing right beside you it wouldn't be right, although you're not sure why you feel so guilty all of a sudden thinking about it.

"We better tell Winston then" Emily says, nudging you softly until you slip your hand into your pocket to grab your phone as you walk a bit away from them. You know you should call first to let Winston know you're coming, and to give him advanced warning on the attack. As you press the phone to your ear waiting for it to go through the complicated process of encrypting Winston's number before it can even call him, you watch Emily who's now at Widow's side once again. She has her hand on the assassin's arm, saying something to her while Widow nods. You strain your ears, trying to pick up their conversation.

"Take care, okay? Come to us any time you need help"

"I'm not sure that is a smart move, cherie"

"I don't care" Emily says fiercely "You're a friend now and friends help each other"

Widow seems to freeze at Emily's words, blinking a few times before a smile pulls at her lips and she nods.

"Hello? Lena, are you all right?" Winston's loud voice booms in your ear. You cringe, turning the volume down slightly before replying.

"Hey big guy, Yeah I'm fine, got somethin' I need to tell ya though"

"Oh?"

"Me and Em are coming to the watchpoint. You always tell me ta phone before coming, so here I am"

You can almost hear the frown in his voice "You and Emily? Why?"

"It's…It's not good news, but I'll explain when I get there" You say, hearing him sigh wearily in response "Hey, want me to bring you some bananas to soften the bad news?"

"Lena, we've talked about this" he warns tiredly, but you just giggle.

"Some peanut butter then?"

"Lena, stop!"


	6. Chapter 6

"So" Winston says, a permanent frown on his face as he looks from you to Emily "Talon are planning to attack us?"

"Yup" you answer casually, already very bored of explaining the details as you've done so twice already, and Winston still seems to be unsure of it all.

"And yet again, I have to ask how did you come across this information?"

You sigh dramatically, giving Winston your best smile and hoping that's enough to clear the suspicion he obviously has "Come on big guy, don't get super serious on me now. You know I 'ate all this formal crap. Can ya not just give the message out and we can start getting ready to kick their arses?"

"If I could I wouldn't be asking, but the higher ups need to know"

"We have higher ups? thought you were as tall as they got" you say with a grin, earning a rather exasperated face palm from your friend.

"Lena, please"

"Okay, okay. I'll stop with the jokes. But can we just at least tell all this to Athena and see if she can find anythin'?"

"That's still not an answer Lena"

"Look, big guy-"

"-I found out about it" Emily says suddenly, making both you and Winston look at her in surprise. She's hardly said a word since you both arrived apart from a few polite pleasantries. Anyone onlooking could obviously tell she was troubled by something, luckily only you know that she's definitely worried about Widow, and hoping her new friend is safe.

"You found out about our enemy's plans?" Winston asks, an eyebrow raised in suspicion. Thankfully Emily seems to be well trained in keeping a straight face and lying blindly while doing it. Something she's obviously picked up in the years of practice in her field.

"I was looking into a story with ties to something much bigger. A few phone calls to the right people and the information just sort of fell into my lap" She says, her eyes on Winston's, and you have to admit even you believe her for a moment "I didn't mean to find anything like this- it was a story on corrupt banking figures for gods sake, but I sure am glad I did and could warn you in time"

"Well…thank you Emily, your cooperation is appreciated, of course" He smiles warmly at both of you as if Emily's explanation really has put him at ease. "I just need to clarify, you didn't talk to any active Talon agents to get this information, did you?"

You Look to Emily, the panic obviously evident your eyes because she simply places her hand on your knee and gives it a little squeeze before smiling. "Of course not. Do you really think Lena would let me get near anyone to do with Talon?"

"Oh, yes, of course" he laughs in that loud friendly way that makes you feel at home "I'm just going through procedures for information gathering. I know Lena is way too over protective to let you near any Talon members, but I still have to check"

"You know me too well big guy" you say cheerfully, hoping the nervousness of lying to one your best friend stays out of your voice. From the smile you get back from him you're pretty sure you're safe.

"With all that sorted, I'll send all this to the higher ups" He pauses for a moment, turning towards the console in his office "Athena, stop recording and send the relevant audio to the commander and security chief"

"Yes Winston" comes Athena's voice over the large speaker above your heads "Cropping Audio and condensing into a file now…Done, and sent to the relevant participants"

"Thank you, Athena" Winston says with a small smile before turning back to you "Now business matters are out the way, how are you both?"

"We're good" Emily answers for you "Such a shame this all had to come up now, Lena just got home and now she's back here again"

"Ah yes, an Overwatch agents job is never done" Winston's say with a soft chuckle. "I'm glad you've both taken this so well, and come to us with such interesting information. Plus, it's been months since I've seen you in person Emily"

"It has, hasn't it? The last time was Christmas wasn't it?"

"Yes, when you both joined Athena and I for Christmas dinner"

"Oh yeah" you say, memories of that day fluttering through your head as a small smile pulls at your lips. You don't often like to get sentimental, but spending time with Emily and Winston is one of those rare occasions where you're completely content and don't have the worry about the world that's falling down around you. You enjoy their company equally, and when you all spend time together you can't help but look back on those memories with a smile on your face and a warm feeling in your stomach.

A strange feeling comes over you as you realise that feeling you'd only ever associated with being loved and happy comes up with other people too. You'd simply thought that because Emily meant the world to you, and Winston being one of your best friends meant that that warm fuzzy feeling was just for them. But it comes out at other times too, maybe a little more weakly, but it's still there. When you see Fareeha is looking and Angela with such love and adoration, When Reinhardt laughs his big loud laugh and nearly knocks you to the floor by patting your back, When you beat Hana at a video game and she gives you that signature pout of hers but then smiles a wonderful smile. Most worrying out of all these examples is the fact Widow also makes you feel like this. When she saved you, your chat on the rooftop last month, even your conversation from yesterday brought on that feeling. At first you'd thought that feeling simply meant happiness, it came in small bursts with friends but larger ones with people you loved more. But now, now you're not sure. Whatever it is, it's as intense with Widow as it is with Emily, and honestly, that scares you quite a lot.

You realise you've been quite literally lost in your own thoughts when You hear Winston's voice pull you back to reality and realise him and Emily have started a whole other conversation. You try to listen in, but your heads not really in the right place. That is of course until Winston says a certain snipers name and then all you can do is listen.

"How are you finding the Widowmaker file?" he asks, something clouding his eyes you can't read "I haven't read it all myself, but I've been told by Angela it's a tough read"

Emily seems to wince a little bit, obviously recalling exactly what's in that file and shuddering. You know she's read it all and watched all the videos several times, you'd woken up in the middle of the night once to find her in the living room watching a video from it with silent tears streaking down her cheeks. You hadn't needed to speak to give her comfort, only walked over and carefully wrapped your arms around her. She'd hugged you back, pushing the device aside and telling you in a choked-up voice that she needed to save Amalie. You'd tried to remind her then and there that Widowmaker is not Amelie anymore, but Emily was in such a state she didn't want to hear it, and just kept repeating that she needed to save her over and over again until she's cried herself to sleep in your arms.

The next day you both acted like the night before hadn't happened and left it at that. Emily was not known for crying, if anything she was the one to hold you when you cried. That's when it became very obvious to you that Emily was even more invested in saving her than you were, and although there should have been some concern or worry, you amazingly felt perfectly okay about it. That was probably another worrying feeling to add to the ever-growing list you have now.

"It's a very hard read" Emily admits quietly, earning a sad smile from Winston. He's about to touch her arm comfortingly when she smiles at him, and he freezes as if her smile has shocked him "It's terrible everything Talon did to her, but also very interesting medically. It really helped that article about gene altering I was hired to write"

You try really hard not to smile at the fact Emily had the perfect excuse for getting the file, and by the looks of how Winston is now talking to her on the topic of gene altering, he doesn't suspect that file was originally meant for you at all. You know everyone has been worried about how fascinated you are with Widow, and seeing Winston fully believing Emily having that file has nothing to do with you is nice. Not that you don't mind your friends concern, but the lectures on not befriending the enemy do get tiring. If only they all knew exactly how you're feeling about Widow now, you'd probably never ever hear the end of it.

"Well, I better let you two get some rest. It is late after all" Winston says, nodding at you as Emily stands from her seat. You quickly follow her lead, both of you saying your goodbyes before making your way to your room. Emily has only been here a couple of times before, but she seems to know where she's going better than you do. You watch in awe as she turns down corridors confidently and before you know it you're standing outside your room.

"Lena" she says, grabbing your attention, and then motioning to the door. It's only then that you remember you're the only one who has a key card for your room and she very well can't go in until you unlock it. With a slight blush spread across your cheeks you hurriedly fumble in your pocket for the card and press it against the censor. With a quick beep the light turns from red to green and a little click is heard as the lock slides open.

She gives you a little smirk and you can almost hear her voice telling you she loves it when you get flustered. But she doesn't actually say those words tonight, just walks into the room and waits for you to follow. Maybe she's just as exhausted as you are and can't be bothered trying to tease you. Or maybe she can actually sense how tense and dangerous this situation has become since both of you are now on pretty good terms with an actual enemy of Overwatch.

When you enter the room, you find her already sitting on your small single bed. You're about to try lighten the mood with a joke about how the bed is too small for the both of you, but then you see the look Emily is giving you, the words die on your lips. Something is wrong, that much is obvious. If she's scared about what could happen, or even worried about Widow you don't know, but something is definitely up with her.

Her eyes met yours and her lips twitch into a small smile as she pats the bed beside her. You do as you're told, sitting down to her right and letting her take your hand when she reaches for it.

"You okay luv?" you ask, already knowing the answer but hoping you can at least cheer her up if nothing else.

"Yeah…It's just" She starts, cutting herself off with a sigh "…Lena, I have to tell you something"

Fear takes a tight grip of you at her words, but you try to calm yourself, swallowing the knot in your throat before nodding at her. She hesitates for just a moment before turning to look into your eyes, a real vulnerable look shining in them.

"While you were away on your mission, I ended up meeting Amelie while I was out, quite a few times actually" she says, nervousness evident in her voice as she seems to scan your face for a reaction. You try not to give her one, listening to see where this is leading exactly. "She…She isn't a bad person Lena. When I said I think she has some good in her, I was telling the truth. I've spent time with her, Seen that she's way more than just a weapon to Talon"

You don't really know what to say, if anything you're impressed she managed to meet the assassin and come out of it completely unharmed. Although from what you've seen already you don't think Widow would ever harm Emily. You should probably be upset that she didn't tell you this earlier, but you find yourself sort of relieved that Emily seems to really get on with Widow for some reason. You're not sure why that makes you feel the way but it does, so you don't question it.

"I should have told you sooner I know, but I was planning to let you have a nice first day back then tell you tomorrow" She laughs softly to herself "But you never stop working, even on your first proper day off you're back at work in the evening"

"Is that why ya got so upset when I said we couldn't trust her?" you find yourself asking as things from your chat earlier in the park start to make sense. No wonder Emily had such a strong reaction to saving Widow if they'd spent a good couple of days together. That thought brings a whole bunch of new questions into your head.

"Wait, what did ya even do when you spent time together?"

Emily squeezes your hand and gives you this smug little smirk in response "Are you jealous Lena?"

You scoff "I'm not jealous, just concerned she's brainwashin' you for Talon or somethin'" you mumble in reply, and she actually giggles.

"You, we talked about you" comes her blunt answer, which comes as a little bit of a shock to you although it really shouldn't at this point "It's what we have in common, although she's way too shy in admitting she feels anything for you. I could barely get her to admit she's here to protect you, she just kept going on about how she needed to keep me safe from Talon, and if she could save you along the way that would be nice"

"You make it sound like she has a sense of humour or somethin'" you say dryly, earning a light hit to your arm and a grin from Emily in response.

"She does, the whole actually having emotions again thing helps with that"

"Starting to sound like you enjoy spending time with her luv" you say teasingly hoping to get sort of reaction out of her. As expected, her cheeks turn pink making her freckles stand out even more. and all you want to do is kiss her and tell her how cute she is. You expected her to get embarrassed and flustered, but what you don't expect is for her to have a sincere reply.

"She's…fun? I don't know, she's different. I liked when she'd hang around me because then I knew she was safe and away from Talon. I guess I really liked spending time with her actually"

"Now I really am jealous" you say with a grin, for the first time actually understanding exactly how Emily feels about Widow. Maybe your strange feelings towards the assassin aren't so strange at all if your girlfriend feels sort of the same way, but then again you guess Emily's feelings don't run quite as deeply as yours probably do. You try not to think about it too much, instead focusing on the girl in front of you and how she tries to laugh at you but she interrupts herself with a yawn. She looks at you sheepishly, knowing you're going to make some remark about her being tired and beats you too it.

"Well I guess we better get to bed, we've had a pretty long day"

"Yeah no kiddin', I'm knackered" You say, watching Emily as she ushers you off the bed and strips off her shirt and jeans before climbing under the covers. She looks at you expectantly, waiting for you to join her, and for a moment you think about saying you'll come to bed later. You do have people you should talk to, but on the other hand, there's a gorgeous girl in your bed and you simply can't say no to that offer. You quickly rid yourself of your clothes, hanging your accelerator on the hook beside the bed, and join Emily under the covers, giggling with her as she gives you a little shove when pretending to push you out the bed.

"Athena" you say, your face now tucked into Emily's neck as she drapes an arm around your waist "switch off the lights would ya"

"Of course" says Athena's voice before the room plunges into darkness "Goodnight agent Oxten, and Miss Emily"

You feel Emily smile against your head where her lips were a second ago pressing a small kiss there. "Night Athena"

Your stay at the watchpoint is fairly uneventful until the third day comes around. All Overwatch agents who answered the recall were called to the watchpoint for their own protection, and because really, the more people there are to fight the better chance they have of surviving Talon's attack. With everyone in one place there had been the usual banter there always is, but everyone is just a bit more on edge. Of course, that doesn't stop Hana and Lucio having a pro gaming session, and then wrestling to determine who really wins when the game ends in a draw. Angela had simply sighed loudly while patching them up, while Fareeha encouraged them to let her join next time, which made her receive a deadly glare from her partner and excited grin form the younger ones.

At the end of the third day, you find Emily already asleep in your room, one arm tucked securely to her chest while the other hangs off the bed with a small handgun just out of reach. You frown at the sight, knowing Emily really doesn't like guns or violence at all. Someone must have convinced her she needed a gun on her for safety reasons. It was probably soldier, he is but far the biggest gun fan in Overwatch, and pretty much obsessed with keeping his team safe.

You make your way over the cupboard, trying to sift through it as quietly as possible as not to wake Emily up. After a bit of searching, you find the blanket she bought you for your one year anniversary. You've always kept the orange fuzzy blanket at the watchpoint as a sort of good luck charm, and a reminder of the girl you had waiting for you at home. A smile pulls as your lips as your fingers run over the soft material before you carefully infold it and drape it over your girlfriend's sleeping form. She stirs slightly but doesn't wake, instead she turns over and luckily doesn't take the gun on the floor with her. You watch her for a moment before leaning down and picking up the small gun, making sure the safety is definitely on before placing in on your bedside table. You're just about to place a kiss on Emily's head when you hear a soft knock at the door.

When the door slides open Angela is standing there waiting for you. You smile at her, expecting her to smile back. She does smile, but it doesn't reach her eyes, which tells you something is obviously wrong. She looks past you to Where Emily is sleeping on the bed.

"I was hoping I could talk to you, but it seems your room is already occupied"

You nod, already stepping out of the room and pressing the small button to close the door. Angela looks at you, almost as if she's sizing you up before she gestures to her left in the hallway. "My office will have to do then"

"Lead the way, doc" you say cheerfully, although you've spent way too much time in the infirmary and her office to not know where it is at this point. It's deadly quiet on the walk to her office, even the sounds of you friends chatting in the main room sounds so far away and almost ghostly. It's a little creepy actually, you've never noticed how creepy this part of the watchpoint is at this time of night, and can now understand why Angela likes having Fareeha walk her to and from her office. Not that she has much of a choice as Fareeha is rather glued to her. Speaking of her actually…

"Where's Fareeha?" you ask as you're nearing her office. Angela just shrugs in reply, fishing her keycard out of her pocket as you approach the door "Still with Ana and Reinhardt I guess. I left them when they started to play this game called pictionary"

"Oh, me and Em played that with Winston at new years, it was well good"

"I do not see the appeal, but then I am not much of an artist, and I'm a terrible loser"

"Oh, I know Angie" you say with a laugh "Remember when we all played scrabble and you stormed out the room?"

A blush spreads across Angela's face and she looks just as flustered as she did when it actually happened "That wasn't my fault. Jesse was trying to pass of 'tootin' as a word. It's simply not in the dictionary!"

You laugh at her, already trying to think of other game nights she's stormed off on because she wasn't winning. But before you can, she holds open the door to her office for you and you know you better drop it because she does in fact she pointy things in there she can, and will, throw at you.

Once you're both inside and seated by her desk she starts talking finally. "How are you doing liebling?"

"Me?" you ask, caught pretty off guard by such a simple question, especially since she looked so serious when you first opened the door to her. "I'm doing fine, great actually. Didn't think it was time for my yearly examination yet" you add with a grin, hoping to keep the atmosphere light.

She smiles softly, looking down at the papers on her desk for a moment "And Emily, how is she?"

"Good" you answer cautiously, not liking Angela's tone or her sudden interest in how you both are. Angela is a great friend, kind and of course the best doctor in the world. You're lucky to have her on your team for most missions, never mind the fact she's a very good friend to you. But that being said, she is still a medical professional who also knows a great deal about psychology and can read you like a book. So to say you and Em are holding the biggest secret of your lives right now, that really isn't good for either of you.

"Good, that's good. I was wondering if the extra stress of having to hide her from Talon agents was having an effect on either of you, but if you say it isn't, I can't do much"

"We're both okay. She knew what she was signing up to dating an Overwatch gal and all" you reply cheerfully, adding a little laugh at the end to try uphold the façade that you're perfectly happy and everything is fine.

"I'm worried about you, Lena" Angela simply says "You've been acting very strangely over the last few months. I thought it maybe was just from the stress of missions, but then when I saw Emily acting so secluded and shut off…"

"I'm fine luv" you reassure her "Completely fine and so is Em. We had a bit of a tiff before coming here about me not having enough time off, so that's why she's been sulking a bit. This was supposed to be our time off together ya know, and we're stuck 'ere and she isn't that happy 'bout it"

She looks at you unsurely, and you have a feeling she knows something she isn't telling you. This feels an awful lot like a test that you're definitely failing right now. "You would come to me if something was wrong, wouldn't you Lena?"

"Haha yeah" you say sounding so incredibly fake that you want to hit yourself. You just want to get out of this situation and fast. You absolutely hate lying to Angela, but it's for your own good. No, that's a lie, it's for Widows's own good, because no matter how nicely you put it, she's gonna get in so much shit for this if anyone finds out. Talon will torture and condition her again, and Overwatch won't do much better. You need to keep everything you know about her a secret, and definitely can't have Angela knowing anything at all.

"Anyway, we're both fine, and if that's all you wanted I better get back to my room to see Em and-"

"-Lena" Angela interrupts, making you freeze in your tracks. You've gotten as far as standing up from the chair before she's stopped you, and now you're just standing there, frozen like an idiot staring at her. She sighs deeply, reaching into her bag on the floor next to her desk and pulling out a data pad. You watch her carefully as she presses a button and the screen comes to life, making you realise exactly who the device belongs to.

"My data pad! I was wonderin' where it got too" you say, finally moving from your spot and making your way around the desk.

"The picture of you and Emily told me it was yours" Angela says, eyeing you almost suspiciously before she touches the screen and a file pops up. You're confused for a moment to why there would be a file open, unless someone had found it and decided to go through your stuff. Not that there's really anything that Important on it apart from your emails and-

Your eyes go wide as the realisation hits exactly what Angela has found.

"I've told you to password protect this, leibling" she says almost threateningly, pressing the screen again and sure enough the Widowmaker file comes up in all its glory. Expect, it's ten pages into the report on a page made entirely of pictures of the assassin, and to anyone who didn't know what this was it would look like a weird collage of pictures of your supposed enemy.

"Angie, I can explain" you start to say although you know you really can't explain. You don't even remember opening that file, never mind skipping several pages into it. Actually, now you think about it, you can't remember the last time you'd even used the device. The last you'd seen it, Emily had been looking at it in the main room while you chatted with your old friends.

Angela must be able to read the realisation on your face because she raises a brow as if wanting you to explain your amazing epiphany you've just had.

"Emily was using it. Her one broke last month so we've been sharing mine-"

"I'm not stupid Lena. Why would Emily have a file like this? She doesn't need to know anything about Talon, or about their agents"

"I- I swear Angie. She asked Winston for it because she needed to write an article on gene altering, and I'd mentioned 'bout the fact that Widow is kinda blue an' that"

She still looks suspicious, but the anger from before is gone and she just looks more confused than anything else now "So…You didn't steal this file from Athena's archives"

"God no luv" you answer, trying to give Angela your most sincere look "I'd never do that, even if I wanted information I'd always ask you or Winston first"

"I…I apologise then" she says, her eyes on the desk in front of her again "You must understand, this is an uncomfortable topic for me. Anything about Amelie-" She stops herself, taking a large gulp of air before continuing "About Widowmaker isn't something I like to talk about. After all, Gerard's death is on me"

"It's not your fault" She looks up at you in surprise, finding that you probably have the same surprised expression on your own face. You're so used to talking about this with Widow that the response just comes naturally. Never in your life have you ever talked to Angela is such a sweet calm voice before. If she suspects anything, she doesn't show it and just smiles at you. You know you really shouldn't be talking about it, but you do sort of want to see how far you can push it. You'd ideally love to tell Angela about everything that's happened and how confused you are about everything, but obviously, you can't. You do want to see how much you can get away with talking about though, just to gauge her reaction.

"It isn't your fault luv, but it wasn't her fault either" you say, watching as Angela opens her mouth to say something but closes it again.

"You have read the file then? You know about the conditioning and everything they've done to her?" she asks, a strange edge to her voice you've never heard before.

"Yeah" you say simply, studying your friend's face carefully for a reaction. "I just wanted ta know what really happened to her, ya know, since no one here would tell me"

"That's fair enough" Angela says with a small sigh "It's something no one likes to remember. Amelie was our friend, and when she disappeared we thought she was dead. We mourned for her, dealt with Gerard's anger and loss for him. And then when she came back- we were all so happy. If I'd paid more attention to her results, if I'd tested her properly to see why her body temperature was so low, maybe we wouldn't have lost them both. Talon may have created that monster, but I allowed it to kill"

You don't know what to say to her at all. So many thoughts fly through your head at a million miles an hour. The most prominent one is that Angela definitely had a very strong attachment to both Amelie and Gerard, and losing them both must have broken her. Seeing your friend like this makes your heart break, and all you want to do is reach out to her and give her the biggest hug you can. But she's looking at you steadily, if there are tears she isn't letting them fall and you realise for the first time that Angela may be one of the strongest women you've ever met.

"'m Sorry Angie" you half mumble, not really sure if you should be speaking at all, but at the same time wanting to say something. She shrugs, shaking her head a little and when she looks at you again her focus looks a little better.

"It doesn't matter leibling, I should be the one that's sorry for kepping you up with my troubles"

"Aw, no, Angie don't say that" you gush quickly, yet again obviously surprising her because she looks a bit startled "You can come to me anytime ya know, I'm here to listen. That's what friends are for, right?"

She looks unsure for a moment but then gives you a small smile "Of course, I'll keep that in mind" she says, handing you your data pad and then walking a few steps towards the door before turning back to look at you.

"We both better turn in for the night, Fareeha will come searching for me if I don't go back to our room soon"

"Let me guess, I don't want to see a tired Fareeha?" you ask teasingly with a grin.

"She might rip you to shreds for keeping me away from her, and that's if she's in a good mood" Angela says, a smile that matches yours on her face. You're incredibly glad she seems to be back to her usual self now, and wonder if maybe she's needed to say all that out loud for a while now.

You both make your way out of her office and back to your rooms, Angela walking you to your door and giving you a tight hug before she goes on her way to her own room. When you open the door Emily stirs and blinks at you tiredly.

"Didn't mean to wake ya luv, go back to sleep" you say softly, crossing the room and running your fingers through her slightly frizzy hair. She groans softly but seems to do as she's told and closes her eyes again.

You get ready for bed and slide in beside her, trying really hard not to make much noise or movement but it seems all for nothing because as soon as you're under the covers beside her, she attaches onto like a koala and mumbles something sleepily. You laugh softly, turning into her arms so you're face to face. Her eyes are closed but she's obviously still awake, but just very sleepy.

"Where you been?" she grumbles, trying to pull you closer although it's pretty impossible as she's as close as she can be to you.

"Talking to Angie" You answer simply, intending to leave it just there but then the thought crosses your mind that you should probably ask her if she was looking at Widow's file. "She found our data pad 'nd it had Widow's file open on it. Where ya looking at it?"

Emily makes a strange groaning sound which could be taken as a yes or a no. It's all you're going to get from her you think, but then then she speaks up again "She's pretty"

"What?" you ask, slightly amused at the weird things Emily is saying in her half-asleep state.

"Amelie-Widow, whatever. She's nice to look at"

You actually giggle at that, pressing a quick kiss to Emily's forehead "You gay disaster Em, that's supposed to be my job"

"Hmmm, we can be gay disasters together" is the reply you get and you laugh again, only receiving an annoyed sleepy groan in response now.

You Fall asleep with your arms around the girl you love, while you mind wonders to another girl, who so many people use to love.


	7. Chapter 7

There's a loud bang, a scream, and then a siren. You don't know which one of them wake you, but you're sitting up and looking around the room hurriedly before you've even properly woken up. It takes you about two seconds to realise the bang was an explosion, the scream belongs to someone on the base, and of course the siren means someone is attacking.

You turn to Emily to tell her to hurry and get dressed but- Emily isn't there. The raw panic hits you then, the loud alarm sounding muffled as you stumble from bed and dress as quickly as you can. The door to your room can't slide open any slower you swear, and when you stumble out into the hallway you feel sick. There are several people running towards to exit clutching valuables in their hands, some with injuries that you know need medical attention but they can't afford to stop to get it.

You're momentarily distracted from your racing throughs of where the hell Emily could be by the inner battle you have with yourself of how to help these people, but reality comes crashing down on you once again. You close your eyes, taking a shaky breath to try ground yourself. When you open them again you feel a stab of determination in your gut along with fear, and you quickly take off down the hallway to the only place you can think Emily could possibly be.

"Emily!" your voice is quiet among the chaos, but she's nowhere to be seen when you enter the living area. The room is empty, all signs of anyone even being there in the last few hours gone. The sirens seem to be getting louder and louder until you can't even hear your own thoughts over them. You need to find Emily now, keep her safe. If this is Talon attacking and they get a hold of her she'll- No, no you can't even think about it. You won't let them have her, even if it takes you dying to stop them, you won't let them turn her against you. Thoughts of Widow and all they've done to her flash through your head, driving an even deeper determination to find Emily, and to make sure she never has to go through anything like that at the hands of these sick people.

You don't even pay attention to where you're going, just running around the base trying to figure out what you should do, how to help everyone. That is until you see a flash of auburn hair and your heart nearly stops. You don't realise you're shouting her name until her head pops back around the corner she just went around. As soon as your eyes meet she smiles at you and you instantly feel so much better. In an instant you're next you her, throwing your arms around her in a tight hug,

"Oh Em, bloody hell you sacred me half to death!" She just laughs, patting your back before pulling away from you and gesturing down the hallway where you can see a very worried Winston looking at you both.

"Winston! Thank God you're alright too big guy, was worried 'bout ya"

He simply nods, looking from you to Emily "We were just evacuating, some of the others are fighting off some Talon field troops. There's been no sightings of Reaper or anyone of significance which is…well strange to say the least" There's a look in his eyes which you can't really read but you get this gut feeling that it isn't good "Be careful Lena, something isn't right here"

You nod, Squeezing Emily's hand before taking a step back and looking at Winston once again "I'll 'elp the others with the fighting, you just get her to safety" You hold his gaze for a moment, trying to figure out why he looks uneasy, but he just nods curtly at you before walking away with Emily following close behind him. You're left standing there staring after them trying to figure out what he could be thinking, not that it particularly matters right now, as you have much more important things to deal with.

You run down the corridor, it feeling endless as the siren bores into your head and the white of the walls hurt your eyes. It's so loud and hectic, you can barely hear yourself think. Where should you go? What are you even supposed to be doing? Your thoughts are cut off by a piercing scream that seems to echo all around you. You don't even stop to think who it could be before you blink in the direction of the sound.

What you find isn't a pretty sight. One of Overwatch's newest recruits, a foot soldier no older than twenty is lying there half beaten to death with Someone towering above her. You find yourself carelessly charging at the Talon agent, bullets flying towards them as some sort of unknown rage takes over you. Within seconds the agent is on the floor with several bullets torn into their flesh. The barely conscious foot soldier looks up at you, trying to thank you but she doesn't have enough strength. You feel your heart sink, watching the girl in front of you who you know is slowly dying.

"Hey luv, do you think ya can move?" you ask softly, crouching down next to the girl who manages to open her eyes and move her head slightly. You take that as a sign that hopefully she'll try help you get her to someone who can help. With a bit of trouble, you manage to get your arms around her and lift her up. All she does in groan in pain, trying her hardest to walk with you but nearly falling every step.

"Hey, what's your name" you ask, trying to sound your usual bubbly self. It's the easiest way to distract both of you for acknowledging that she's dying and you're just delaying it slightly. She doesn't answer at first, just slumps against you. For a moment you think she's passed out and you're about to groan in annoyance that you have to drag this dead weight. But then her head suddenly jerks up, and her eyes meet yours properly for the first time.

"S-sadie" she stutters, her voice edged with pain. She should absolutely be unconscious from her injuries by now, but she has this look of…something in her eye. "You're Tracer, t-the Tracer"

"That's me luv, the one and only" you say to her, about to give her your signature salute before you remember both your arms are holding her up. You hurry your pace, trying to get to where you know there will be some agents waiting to help the injured. You'd gone over the evacuation plan several times in the last few days, everyone knowing where they're supposed to be. Angela and her newly recruited team of medics will be waiting by the south wing and another team will be waiting by the side entrance. You're closest to the south wing, and although that means having to double back to your own rendezvous point you don't really care. All you care about just now is getting the dying girl in your arms to safety.

"T-Tracer?" Sadie asks softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Yeah luv?"

"Am I going to die?"

You find it hard to gulp down in the lump in your throat then, the feeling of unease from before intensifying as you try to think of what to say. "What? Of course not, you're fine" you say as cheerfully as you can, desperately counting down in your head how long it will be until you get to the medics waiting at the south wing.

"If I do-"

"You won't!"

The loudness of your own voice makes you both jump. She looks up at you with tear filled eyes and you can't help but falter in your steps. You didn't mean to shout, hell you don't want to shout at anyone and make them uncomfortable. But this isn't the time, you don't have time for this emotional stuff now you need to get her to someone who can help. You've always tried to be good, save everyone you can, and when you can't it kills you. It hurts more than you could ever try to explain to anyone. She may only be one girl, but she's one girl you could have saved.

When you turn a corner, and see a very anxious looking Angela standing there, you've never felt so relieved to see her. You shout her name, her head snapping up to you and in an instant she's running to you with a few members of her team following behind.

"What happened?" she asks as she takes Sadie from your arms and carefully passes her to the people behind her that immediately start patching her up.

"Don't know, found 'er like this. Killed the guy that did it to her"

Angela nods, looking from the girl then back to you. "We need to move out, thank you Lena"

"Will she be okay?" you ask, making Angela stop in her hurried tracks.

"I don't know, but we need to go. We're leaving with the Injured as soon as possible…you need to get to your rendezvous point quickly"

You nod, the world seeming to blur around you as everyone disappears. You're left standing there feeling dazed and shaky as you look down to see the blood on your hands. You sigh deeply, telling yourself to get a grip before you turn on your heel and blink towards your destination, not being able to shake off the feeling that something is very wrong.

"It's nice to see the good doctor hasn't changed"

His voice makes you freeze, your blood feeling as though it's just turned to ice when you quickly turn and see him standing there.

"She's always been like that, not that you'd know" You find yourself saying, trying to sound snarky but your voice completely fails you. You sound like a wet puppy, whimpering and terrified.

Reaper makes a noise that sounds like something between amusement and disappointment. "She's always been a hard one to crack, no one could ever figure out how to get to her…a bit like you"

You don't know what to do. Talon's like number one bad guy is standing right in front of you, and you can't even move. You need to think, to try figure out what the hell you should be doing. You need to run, to get to your rendezvous point and get back to Emily. There's never been higher stakes than there are now, so why are you stuck like this just staring at the blank shadowy monster in front of you.

"You don't scare me" you say, your confidence finally coming back as you start to formulate a plan in your head.

"I wasn't sent here to scare you" He answers, his voice dipping impossibly low "I'm here to get what I want"

"'nd what's that, luv? Those files you failed to get last time?"

He practically growls in response, taking a step towards you threateningly "You should watch what you're saying _Tracer_ " he says your call sign in a familiar way, it's teasing…and you feel like you've heard it before from someone in your past. It almost sounds like- like…but it can't be.

He laughs darkly, bringing you back to reality. You try to look at him, figure out what he's up to but you can't. You can't even see his face because of that stupid mask he's wearing…although you're not sure you want to. From his appearance alone, it seems Widow isn't the only one Talon tried the gene altering thing on. Although, it seems he must have gone through it voluntarily, with not being brainwashed and all that.

"I know about your weaknesses" he says, and although you can't see his face, you can hear the smirk in his voice. A sharp stab of panic hits you at his words.

"What are-"

"-It seems you have more than one now" He takes another step closer, the shotguns in his hands now uncomfortably close to you. He could very easily kill you from where he's standing. You really aught to run away, or at least create some distance between you both but…but you want to know what he means. If he means what you think he does…you're in a lot of trouble.

"What do you mean?" you ask in a voice which is supposed to be confident, but sounds incredibly weak. You can hear the own fear in your voice and want to kick yourself for how stupid you sound. You can practically feel how much he loves that from the way his demeaner changes.

"I know your secret Oxton, and I'm going to use it against you when you least expect it"

"What do-" you begin to say, but a spray of bullets interrupts you. Reaper is holding his shoulder, looking around to see who fired the shots, but no one can be seen. He growls angrily before looking back at you. You think he's going to say something else, but he doesn't. Before you can even start to say anything, he's disappeared in a puff of smoke.

On shaking legs, you make your way to the rendezvous point, your head a complete mess as you try to figure out what the hell he was talking about. He knows your secret, what secret? The first thing that comes to mind is about Widow and how she's been helping you. But no, no he can't know about that. She said her and her hacker friend had covered that up pretty well.

The realisation that he could be talking about Emily suddenly dawns on you and you feel sick. How could you not have thought about that before? Emily is your bloody girlfriend for god sake and you're too busy worrying about someone who is basically the enemy. You really need to get your priorities straight, Emily should be your one and only priority…but, it seems she isn't.

You want to keep lying to yourself forever that Widow means nothing to you and all this whole tag team you have with Emily to save her is because you want to take a valuable asset away from Talon. And you're doing it to save her of course. But really, it's not, is it? Sure it's somewhat about that, that you and Emily both really want to recue her after all she's been through but…but there's something more, something deeper you don't want to think about, never mind talk about.

"Lena!" You snap out of your thoughts to see you're already at your destination and Emily is waiting there with a still very concerned looking Winston beside her. She runs towards you, you blinking forward to meet her quicker. As soon as she's at arms reach you have your arms wrapped around her tightly, and you feel for the first time in awhile you can finally breathe. She hugs you back just as tightly, quickly pulling away from you to give you a once over and to clarify the blood on your hands isn't your own.

"I'm good Em" you say, trying to give her your best smile "had to 'elp someone on the way here, but I'm good"

"Good" is all she says at first, but then something flashes across your face, something you've seen a lot recently "Reaper was spotted…did you?..."

You look over to Winston, noticing he's watching you both with a strange expression. You Look back to Emily, meeting her eyes and trying to give her a look you hope she understands means you'll tell her later.

"Ah, no luv. Lucky really, wouldn't want to bump into him here, would we?"

She nods, seeming to understand what you mean, well you hope she does anyway. She lets go of you, and you both make your way over to Winston who seems to be concentrating intently on something on his phone. He looks startled when you approach, but then smiles awkwardly as he always does before he clears his throat.

"It seems all Talon agents have retreated. Our causalities aren't too high" He pauses, looking at you both over his glasses "I think we need to count ourselves lucky and celebrate that we won, don't you?"

You grin, trying to push everything to the back of your mind while you give Winston the biggest hug you can. He laughs loudly when Emily joins your hug too, which in turn both makes you laugh. It feels nice laughing with your best friend, it takes your mind off things, but sadly not enough for you to ignore the very dangerous situation both you and Emily could be in now.

The celebration is casual, everyone chatting excitedly and sharing battle stories while they sit around in the living area. Reinhardt is telling an over enthusiastic story about he killed 5 men with one hammer swing. Fareeha of course is desperately trying to butt into Reinhardt's story and tell her own story of how she killed people as well with her rockets. Ana is just sitting there quietly sipping her tea and trying not to giggle at the both of them. Other people come and go from the room, giving reports on the injured, which by the end of the night isn't as bad as anyone thought.

You find yourself trying to hide away, being polite when people talk to you but not wanting to actually engage in conversation. You're too busy going over what Reaper said, and what he could have meant, to actually keep talking to anyone. Emily did try get you to spill what happened when you had both gone back to your room to get changed, but you just couldn't tell her. You didn't want her to freak out. You don't think she'll necessarily freak out about Reaper possibly knowing about her, but you know what kind of a reaction she has with anything to do with Widow, so even then you didn't want to tell her about any of it. Luckily you didn't have to as Mccree came knocking at your door saying he'd been sent to round up any stragglers for the 'woo we didn't die' party.

Emily had given up on talking to you hours ago, now happily going between different groups with a drink in hand, a soft smile on her face the whole time. she knows better than to talk to you when you're in your own head. There's times she leaves you alone to think it out, and just now is definitely one of those times.

"Lena" you look up, your eyes feeling incredibly heavy when you do so, but you perk up a bit seeing Mei standing there.

"Hey luv" you say, offering her a tired smile. She offers you a shy smile back, clasping her hands together nervously as she usually does when she talks to anyone, well almost anyone. She's shy and very reserved around everyone who isn't Aleksandra, she seems a little less shy and more chatty around her. You have a sneaky suspicion something more is going on between those two behind closed doors, but it isn't your place to say.

"Dr Zeigler wants to see you in her office" Mei says softly, making eye contact then looking away nervously.

"Dr Zei- oh, Angie. Got it" you say, already standing up "Thanks Mei" She nods, looking relieved she doesn't have to talk anymore.

On your way to Angela's office you mind wonders as it usually does. To Mei and how you find it incredible, and kind of weird that she's so shy and nervous for someone who's basically a genius in her scientific field. To Emily, and how you're really glad you have such an understanding relationship, and she knows just how to treat you when you get like this. Then strangely, your mind is on Widow. On how you wish you had some sort of way to contact her, just in case Reaper really is on to her. In fact, you find yourself wishing she were here, hiding away safely in your room. You know Emily wouldn't mind, she'll be just as worried when you tell her about this whole situation. Admitting to yourself that you almost miss Widow is…it's a strange feeling. One that makes your stomach fill with butterflies. You don't know if that's a good or a bad thing.

You come to a stop outside Angela's office, taking a moment to collect your thoughts and take a quick breath. She'll just be wanting to check you over, that's all. You don't really know why you suddenly feel so worried. It's probably everything in your head, overthinking always makes you feel on edge, even when you're safe at home with nothing to fear.

With another quick breath you push the door open, giving Angela your best smile. She smiles back at you, looking more exhausted than you've seen her in a long time. But as usual she gets down to business quickly, checking you over for any Injuries, not checking too thoroughly as she knows you have the sense to come to her if you were injured. Or more, you know she will about kill you if you didn't go to her. You'd once been cut and just banged it up yourself. When she saw you trying to hide the wound from her she shouted so loudly Fareeha came running into the room, from the other side of the base, asking who Angela was about to murder. It was you on that occasion, but in the few times the stubborn agents have been injured and not told Angela, she's done the same thing to them. She can be really scary when she wants to be, so you know to always stay on her good side. Although by the look she's giving you now…you feel you're treading on a very thin line between her good and bad side.

"Lena" she says, her eyes on yours in that stern way they were the other night when she confronted you about the Widowmaker file. "What's wrong?"

"What? Nothing's wrong, I'm fine luv" You say, probably too quickly to be believable. She seems to catch on, narrowing her eyes at you and searching your face for something. She doesn't seem to find whatever she was looking for as she sighs softly and relaxes.

"Lena you're…I'm worried about you liebling…again"

"Why?" you ask, trying to keep a smile on your face, even though you know how fake it must look. you can't fool Angela, you've never been able to.

"Lena, you not only tipped us off about the attack, but you also saved that girls life today. She was on deaths door and you saved her. You've done so many great things these last few days…so why have you sat for the entire evening on your own looking lost?"

"Angie, I" you start, trying to figure but what to say, but really you don't know. You don't want to keep lying to her, but you also can't exactly tell her the truth. Then again…telling her a slightly altered version of the truth can't be that bad, right? You suppose you really do need to tell someone that you saw Reaper today, eventually you'll have to write it in your report anyway. You'd be in serious trouble if you didn't write it up and they checked surveillance and caught you lying.

"You can trust me, you know that don't you liebling?" Angela asks softly, laying her hand on your arm, and you know then you need to tell her something.

"Yeah. Yeah, of course. It's just…I saw Reaper today"

She seems confused for a moment, looking at you strangely before replying "Yes, he was spotted today on the south balcony-"

"No, luv. I saw him today. He was watching us, he talked to me"

She pales considerably, opening her mouth as if she's going to say something but then closes it again. You wait a moment, waiting to see if she will say anything, but she doesn't. She just looks at you, a strange expression on her face you can't quite read.

"What did…what did he say?" she asks eventually, her voice quiet and nowhere near as stern as before. She almost sounds…scared? You get that Reaper is Talon's most threatening agent, but why would even mentioning the fact he was watching you today shake Angela like this? You have a feeling it also has something to do with her past which she guards so well.

"He said some weird stuff, some stuff 'bout you"

You watch as she bites her lip and turns away. You're about to ask if she's okay, or even what the hells going on before she speaks again. "Did he say anything about Overwatch, about any more plans for attacks?"

You have to stop for a minute and think before you answer. He didn't really, just said he came here to get what he wanted then said he knew your secret. You don't know if you should tell her about that part, mostly because you don't know how she'll react. You expect you'll get assigned some extra protection, or moved to a safe house for a while but…you don't know if you really want that. Of course, you want Emily to be safe, but you don't want to out her through this hiding to protect her thing. But then again, maybe it is better to at least let Angela know so if you do need help Overwatch will be ready.

"He was really weird luv. Said he knew my secrets"

"Your…your what?" she replies, looking more confused than anything.

"Yeah, he just like rocked up to me all like 'oh hey Tracer I know your secrets now and gonna use them against ya, don't mind me'"

"Do you have any what he could mean?"

"I don't know, what does he even want? Like was 'e talking about Emily or-" You cut yourself off sharply, your eyes widening as you realise what you nearly just said. Oh god, that could have been bad, really bad.

"or what?" she asks, seemingly unaware of the freak out you're currently having.

"Nothin', luv" you say quickly, taking a quick shaky breath "I'm just a bit shaken up, thought he was gonna kill me an' that"

She hums softly in reply as if she's thinking on something. "That's understandable. I'll talk to the commander, but the best option is probably to have a team in a nearby safe house ready to help if needed. If he does mean what we think he means, then…"

"Don't worry too much Angie" You say, trying to keep your tone upbeat and a smile on your face as she looks at you "I'm sure me 'nd Em will both be fine"

She doesn't reply, but you can already tell what she's thinking about. She has that same expression on her face as she did when you talked to her about what happened to Amelie. You have a feeling she's definitely preparing for that to happen again, and honestly that breaks your heart. You hate to see her in so much pain over something she really couldn't have controlled.

"Well, I better get back to my room" you say, making her look at you "Me and Em are leaving as soon as tomorrow, she has to get back to work. Apparently, someone trying ta possibly kill ya doesn't count as a good enough reason to be off"

Angela nods, smiling but it doesn't reach her eyes. You can tell she appreciates you trying to lighten the mood, but you have a suspicion nothing can cheer her up once she's going over her past mistakes. She's always been like that, very conscious of her actions even when the effects they caused happened years ago.

"Keep in contact with me liebling, message me if anything suspicious happens"

"Course luv, anything for you"

As you give her a little wave and leave the room, you suddenly feel incredibly guilty. You know the truth would have hurt her, especially if you'd actually explained everything you know about Widow remembering what she's done. She wouldn't be able to handle it, Angela is a lot of things but incredibly emotionally stable is not one of them. You try to justify it to yourself that way anyway, when really, it's yourself who you're scared for. You don't want to betray your best friends trust, and in a way, you don't want to let anyone else in on your little secret.

/

The next day on the flight home to tell Emily about Reaper's warning. She of course does exactly as you predicted and instantly worries about Widow and if she's safe. It isn't until you point out to her that she could be the one at risk that she actually stops and seems to worry about herself. Even when she's worried for her own life, she's still going on about how you need to find Widow and warn her. You guess she probably is right to be worried though. After all, she has you and Overwatch agents ready to protect her if need be. Widow has no one. The thought that the only people she can even begin to trust are you and Emily makes you feel concerned, but also kind of happy. You do want to protect her, of course you do. You just don't know if you can, and that's what scares you.

When you land, thanks to the private airship, you don't need to go through any actual airport security, which is great since your accelerator always causes problems. They always think it's a bomb and you have to always give them the 'I need this to live please just let me through' speech. Without too much fuss, you find yourselves both in a taxi on the way home, happy to be back in London once again. You feel kind of bad that all of Emily's time off was spent stuck in Gibraltar with you, but she doesn't seem to mind too much. As you get closer to your flat, you can practically feel Emily relax against you. You guess she's missed home just as much as you have, maybe more.

You let her go ahead inside with your bags while you pay the taxi driver. It's an omnic of course, most if not all taxi drivers are omnics now. Although his face can't change he seems happy enough that you've paid him and wishes you a good day. You stand there and watch as he drives off, just taking a minute to soak in the city and how much you've missed it. London is your home, always will be no matter where you are.

When you walk into your flat, the first thing you notice is your bags lying at the front door. You want to laugh at the fact Emily just dumped them there and probably went to make herself a cuppa. It is incredibly stereotypically English, but Emily doesn't care, she loves her tea more than anything, maybe more than you.

"Em" you say, already walking towards the kitchen "Hope you're making me a cuppa too because I'm-"

"-Hello, Cherie"

You almost trip over your own feet you're so surprised to hear her voice. Your eyes met hers and…and you've never seen her look so sad. There's a dullness to her eyes, and her hands are clasped firmly together. She looks scared, not like her normal self at all. Emily touching her arm and holding out a mug of tea to her makes the tiniest switch of a smile appear, but it's gone within a second. You don't quite know how to deal with this. The Widowmaker who you knew a few months ago would be teasing you and trying to shoot you right now, but this Widow, the only word that comes to mind is broken. She looks so broken.

"You…alright luv?" you find yourself asking in a quiet voice. You're almost afraid to talk as loudly as you usually do in case it scares her. She looks so timid, so scared. It brings one question to your mind. What the hell happened to her?

"I…non. There's something wrong with me, I'm- I'm feeling things"

At first you almost want to laugh. Laugh because she comes here looking like her life's in danger to tell you she feels things. You do want to laugh, that is until you realise she probably hasn't felt things on any level for a long time. Due to her missing treatments she's become more human, you noticed that awhile ago, but this, this must be her properly feeling emotions for the first time. You do wonder exactly what emotions she's talking about, but you quickly push that thought way.

"We all feel things luv" you start, going back to your usual loudness out of habit "If you ever get away from Talon you'll get used to that-"

"-Lena" Emily gives you a sharp look as she cuts you off, her hand back on Widow's arm again as, as you predicted, Widow does in fact looked a bit shocked by the noise. Or maybe it's the news that she'll be able to feel things again. Either way, you realise you probably just should have kept your mouth shut.

She tries to take a sip from the mug in her hands, but they're shaking too much. With a deep sigh she places it on the counter and begins to fidget with her hands, not looking at ether you or Emily. You're just about to apologize, or say something at least, when she speaks.

"We're not safe"

It takes you a minute to figure out what she's talking about, you just look at her, trying to search her face for something that tells you exactly what she means, but she still won't meet your eyes. Emily seems to get it quicker than you do.

"Did something happen?"

"Non, not- not yet" she says, her voice actually trembling. You've never seen her this vulnerable before, it actually kind of scares you. "I was there, at the watchpoint yesterday. My orders were to locate people, not to kill"

"So you know about-"

"-Yes. Sombra was keeping an eye on you for me. She heard the whole conversation with Reaper. She told me as soon as we were alone. I felt…non, I still feel...something about it"

"Something?" Emily asks gently, using the voice she normally only ever uses for when you're upset. You feel a pang of jealousy briefly, but then wonder why. If what you've been thinking is right, you have no need to feel jealous.

"I feel…frightened, maybe. Sombra wrote a mission for me into the system to give me a few days here…to get away from Talon, and to…"

"To see us" you finish for her, receiving an almost shy nod from her. It's still so very strange to see her like this, but really, you almost feel flattered. Well would do if all your lives weren't possibly in danger. To think she'd want to spend time with you and Em, it's a bit crazy really. She's gone from being your enemy to…well, you're not sure what you think of her now.

"Lena" Emily says, her voice drawing you out of your own very complicated thoughts "could you look around outside while I…" she says, giving you a look that you understand straight away.

"Right, check the perimeter and shoot anyone bad looking, got it" you reply with a little salute, making Emily giggle and even rousing the smallest smile out of Widow.

As you're checking your guns are loaded and getting ready to head out, you can't help but stand in the doorway and watch them. Emily has Widow's hand in hers, trying to make some sort of joke out of how cold her hands are. She leads her to the couch and sits her down, Widow still look incredibly uneasy, but not as nervous as before,

"Do you want anything? I can stick on some food if you're hungry"

"No thank you…I'm fine" Widow replies, giving Emily this soft smile you've never really seen before. You've only seen her smile once before and you're still standing by your statement from then that a smile really does look good on her.

"Do you want to stay here? You said you have a few days here. Wouldn't want you out on the streets or anything"

Widow shakes her head "I'll be fine, Emily"

"But I want to- I mean Lena too- we both want to make sure you're safe"

That seems to catch Widow off guard. A strange expression pulls on her face before she looks over to you, then back to Emily again "I don't want to put you in danger…If something goes wrong…"

"It won't. Just stay here with us, please?" Emily says, taking Widow's hand once again and squeezing it. "We'd both feel better if you did" Widow seems unsure still, like there's something on her mind. Emily seems to notice.

"You can tell us what you're thinking, you know"

"I know, I…I feel…worried. Sombra can't protect us forever. I don't want you to get hurt because of me, either of you"

"Hey luv, you'll be fine. Think Sombra saved my butt yesterday, shot at Reaper to distract him. If she's that brave, she can keep covering your ass until we figure out how ta keep ya safe"

"I…I guess so" you can tell by her tone she doesn't really, but you can trust Emily to cheer her up and reassure her. Just now you get to go outside and zip around, which really is a great idea. You're feeling pretty restless already, the long flight and taxi ride home not helping at all. You're looking forward to being able to run around outside. You doubt you'll find anyone snooping around, but you get to burn off some energy at least, and maybe clear your head a bit too.

With one last look back at them, you make your way out of the flat and downstairs into the chill evening air. You search the perimeter pretty quickly thanks to your accelerator, in fact you check it twice just to be sure but there's no one there. You don't expect Talon to make a move so soon, but you definitely wanna keep an eye out just in case.

You find yourself sitting on a rooftop, your legs swinging over the edge as you try to organise your thoughts a bit more. The night sky and pretty lights are distracting, but in the right kind of way. It's quiet out here, away from the very people who are making your head the mess it is.

The last week you've spent in Gibraltar with Emily has felt like a dream. Something strange which isn't part of reality. After all, the amount of times you've talked about Widow together, and looked at her file, it just doesn't seem real. It almost feels like any the time you weren't going over plans for the attack, you were with her always talking about Widow. It's really…well, you can't describe what it's done to you. You'd say you're confused, but you're not really. You realised what this meant a long time ago, but you were always too scared to admit it. The thought of even having a crush on someone else feels totally alien to you, but here you are. You freaked out when you first realised it, pushed it so far back in your head that you'd hoped it would just go away. Because really, it was just a bit of a crush to begin with. But now, you know it definitely runs a lot deeper than that.

You've been so scared of this because of Emily, because of the fact she's your girlfriend and the only one you're supposed to love. The thought of loving anyone else seemed impossible to you. You love her and you're happy with that…but you aren't, not really. If Emily's behaviour over the last few months, and tonight especially has taught you anything, it's that she must feel the same way.

As you get to your feet and make your way home, you realise you've felt so selfish until now. Obsessing over saving Widow and helping her. But then Emily got involved, and everything changed. She wanted to help, started to get as emotionally invested in this as you are. You don't know how you didn't notice it before. You should have from her emotional out bursts, and how she loved reading the file. All the signs were there, yet you were so scared of your own feelings, that you ignored Emily's.

When you get in you lock the door and bolt it, not wanting anyone to disturb you tonight. There's no telling what any of you will do if some burglar tries break in now, especially with everyone so on edge. It's quiet, apart from the sound of the TV playing quietly. You expect both Emily and Widow to be sitting there watching a movie or something. What you find however, isn't that at all.

Emily has one arm around Widow's shoulders, her other draped lazily across her lap. They're both asleep, Widow snuggled right up against Emily as if they're a couple who have fallen asleep cuddling. The thought makes this little spark inside you ignite. You don't know what the feeling is, but it isn't bad. Emily and Widow a couple, it sounds strange to think about…specially when you add yourself into the mix. The three of you together…that could be what you all want.

With a tired sigh you grab the blanket sitting on the arm chair and drape it over them both. You watch them for a moment, willing yourself to just leave them and go to bed, but you can't. You don't want to. You want more than ever to cuddle up with both of them and just give into what you've been feeling for a long time.

Cautiously you lift up the blanket, trying to tell yourself this is a bad idea, but fuck it it's happening now. This might be your only chance, Widow might be gone in the morning and you don't know if you'll ever get a chance like this again. With the blanket over the three of you, you test the waters by placing your hand on Widow's arm. It's cold, a nice contract to how warm you feel with how flustered you are about this whole situation. You nervously lay your head on the back of the couch, leaning your body towards her and praying to every god under the sun that he doesn't wake up right now. She's cold, but not freezing, and her breaths come out shallow, but they're there. They're both here, and both safe with you.

You don't know what will happen in the morning, but in this moment, you've never felt more content.


	8. Chapter 8

When you wake up, you expect Widow to be gone. Because honestly, why wouldn't she be? She's a Talon assassin, and even if Sombra did manage to get her a few days off here, you know how cautious she is. That's why when you open your eyes and see the space next to you empty, you don't let your heart sink too deeply.

Judging by the soft morning light it can't be too late. Emily is still asleep where she was last night, her position similar to how you saw it last, except she doesn't have another woman cuddled up beside her. You find yourself getting caught up in the moment, a small smile on your face while you watch your girlfriend's peaceful sleeping face. That is until a movement from the balcony catches your attention.

With slow movements, as so not to wake Emily, you get off the couch at move towards the slightly ajar balcony door. One peek outside is all it takes to calm your anxiety and bring you back to your normal calm and slightly jittery self. Surprisingly she doesn't turn when she hears the door open. She seems calm, calmer and definitely a lot less on edge than you've ever seen her. She's watching the sun slowly rise in the sky, her back still to you when you carefully close the door behind you, and take a step towards her.

"Thought you'd 'ave disappeared by now. You're good at that after all"

She finally looks your way when you speak, and dear god, you don't think you've ever seen something so beautiful. The coy little smile she's wearing, and the sun casting shadows across her face just highlight all the right places. You find yourself just standing there awestruck, unable to think never mind move.

"The sunrise is beautiful" is all she says, the silence dragging on for several seconds until she turns towards you fully "As a girl I believed the most romantic thing for a couple to do was watch the sunrise and the sunset…I'm not sure If I ever experienced that. My memories are fuzzy, like they're not my own, like they're…" When her eyes meet yours there's this sadness to them, yet she's still smiling "If I can ever get away from Talon, I would like to make new memories…memories I'll remember this time"

You don't know what to say at first, you're still half a sleep if you're being honest. It's obvious she's been up for a while, thinking over things while watching the sunrise. A flurry of questions are flowing through your mind, the first of which is when did she become so poetic and dramatic? Like she's always been dramatic and extra, but not like this. It's strange, but not unwanted by a long shot. You make your way over to her, keeping your distance in case she doesn't want you too close.

"Bit early for being this extra, don't ya think luv?"

She simply rolls her eyes at you, her serious moment completely broken by you, but you can tell she doesn't really mind. Your eyes slip down to her hand she has on the railing and you suddenly have the overwhelming desire to touch her. You've had it before, the desire to touch and hold her in your arms. You've denied yourself of it over and over again, using Emily as an excuse to why you can't, but you can't use her anymore, can you?

You take a tentative step forwards, that jittery anxiety from before making itself known once again as you look at her. She's looking out towards the sky, not oblivious to your presence, but not seeming bothered by it either. You feel like a stupid teenager again, feeling so anxious around a pretty girl, but then again, you've always been like this around girls. You were like this with Emily on your first date too. Although, you're not sure you can exactly call standing beside a deadly assassin who seems to have a soft spot for you, a date.

The railing is cold beneath your palm as you place your hand on it, your eyes flickering from Widow's face then to her hand as you inch your hand closer to hers. Her sighing softly stops you in your tracks, and you catch her eye looking like a deer in headlights. Her expression is somewhere between amused and exasperated.

"Tracer- Lena. I won't break if you touch me, I'm not that delicate"

Your face goes bright red as she quite literally calls you out on being afraid to hold her hand. You're not sure if you want to laugh or cry of embarrassment. She moves her hand slightly closer to yours, her eyes now on you as she waits for you to make a move. You gulp, trying to clear your head as you finally lift your hand and brush your fingertips against her skin.

She seems to jump a little at first contact, as if she wasn't expecting it, but quickly recovers, her eyes drifting from your face to where you're now laying your hand on top of hers. You thought she'd be more panicked, have some sort of dramatic reaction to this, but she seems fine. Maybe a tiny bit shaken up, but apart from that, she seems almost…relieved even.

A gentle silence falls over you both, and although you don't want to break it, you feel you should. You slowly thread your fingers between hers, squeezing her hand ever so gently, and watching as her eyes lift to meet yours.

"I…I didn't think this would ever be a thing" you say softly, almost afraid to say it out loud. You've spent months pushing these feelings, these urges towards her back, denying you feel anything towards her. And now, well now look at you. You're holding her hand after a night of both you and Emily sleeping beside her. You can't say you haven't thought of this, but you never imagined it would actually happen.

Having her here and safe away from Talon has always felt like a dream that would never happen. And sure, you have to actually come up with a plan to rescue her and keep her safe. But her being here with you now makes you feel something incredibly strange. It's like relief, but with this underlying feeling of something else. You have no idea what it is, but it makes you feel happy and uneasy at the same time.

"You've looked at me long enough in combat to make it clear that you want this, non?"

Her voice is soft, silky as it usually is, and her eyes are now downcast on your connected hands. You think you can possibly see a small smirk playing on her lips, and that her remark is absolutely supposed to be making fun of the fact you are indeed a complete gay mess. But there's some sincerity to it too, like she likes the attention you give her. So you go with it.

"Luv, have you seen your arse? It's to die for"

She practically snorts, raising an eyebrow as her eyes meet yours "I'm not sure a body part can be a reason to die for, cherie"

"I'm just sayin' that…that you're nice to look at is all"

She seems a bit taken aback by that, as if she just expected you to make some other joke and you'd continue your banter. Maybe it's that she hasn't properly thought on your feelings, maybe she hasn't even thought on her own. After all, she's only just started feeling emotions again recently…can she even remember what feelings are supposed to feel like? Can she remember what love and attraction feel like? You don't voice your question, letting her have time to think over things. The last thing you want to do is make her uncomfortable now you've come so far.

The sound of the door sliding open grabs both your attentions. Emily pops her head out, smiling sleepily as she see's you both. "Thought I heard Lena being a flustered mess out here" she says, grinning as a blush covers your cheeks just to prove her point.

"Her cheeks do look nice with that shade of pink, non?" Widow says, the smirk definitely present on her face as she looks at Emily. You watch their gazes meet, and have this silent exchange, which just makes Emily laugh softly and come over to lay a comforting hand on your back. You don't mean to pout at her and sulk, but you can't help it.

"I think the pout is even cuter, don't you Amé?"

"Amé? You on first name bases and giving her nicknames now luv?" you say, watching as it's Emily's turn to blush and look a bit flustered. Widow doesn't say anything, just watches you both curiously. When you look to her, she looks a bit unsure, like she isn't sure what she's supposed to make of this situation.

"Oh hush you" Emily says, with a soft bat to your arm but a smile still on her face. "It suits her a lot more than her call sign, right Amé?"

Widow watches you both cautiously, as though this is a trick and any moment now you'll kick her out. The kindness seems lost on her, she's confused, conflicted by it. The nickname obviously stirring more emotions than she knows how to process.

"With my memories coming back…I guess it's only expected of me to answer to some variation of my…my name"

You both watch her carefully, Emily slowly moving between you both and glancing at your still linked hands, before she gently places her hand on Widow's arm and squeezes. "You gave me this wonderful smile when I called you it last night" Is all Emily says, her eyes now on Widow's as she watches for a reaction. "A smile looks good on you, I'd like to see it more"

"I…It sounded nice the way you said it. Almost like…like a memory from my past coming back"

"If you rather I didn't call you it, I won't. I want you to be comfortable, we both do" Emily says softly, her gaze flickering to you, and you find yourself nodding along with her. Because really, you do want Widow to feel safe here with you. You want to avoid hurting her as much as you possibly can.

"If Gerard called ya it, then we won't use it luv. Simple as that" you say quickly, realising your mistake of saying his name when you watch her flinch. Emily gives you a sharp look, obviously getting ready to swoop in and comfort Widow, but stops in her tracks when Widow meets her eyes.

"Non, my memories of him are faint, but they don't define my actions. If anyone used that name for me, it was not him, not that it matters now"

"…Lena told me what you said, about Amélie being dead but her emotions are still there…Do you still feel like that?"

"I…I do not know. I am not her- not how I used to be, I never will be. But her emotions mix with my own now. I feel like these emotions belong to me, they are my own, but also not my own. It may be the treatments were suppressing them, they did something to my mind to make me feel emotions as if they were not my own. Either way, I do not feel like Amélie…but I also do not feel like Widowmaker"

"What do ya want us to call you then, luv?"

"Amé is nice, it's different from anything else…but, you may call me anything you like"

Emily looks as if she's about to speak when a soft buzzing grabs all your attentions. Widow seems to look confused herself for a moment as she pulls out a small phone from the pocket of the jacket she's wearing. Your first thought is where the hell has she been hiding a phone in that skin-tight body suit. It being in a coat pocket sure, but in that suit? No way could she hide it. She stares at it, looking at the name on the screen before turning to you.

"Sombra gave me it before I left…I did not think she would actually use it"

That's when you notice the name on the screen, along with the little picture that's popped up. The picture is of a young woman, around your age probably, who is giving the camera a peace sign and looks way too happy and carefree to be part of Talon. Emily seems to be just as sceptical as you are as she has a similar look of confusion across her face as she looks at it. Widow cautiously swipes across the screen to accept the call, and is immediately greeted by someone with possibly more enthusiasm than you.

"Ay, my deadly assassin can figure out how to pick up the phone, nice!"

"Hello, Sombra" is all Widow says in return, holding the phone away from her ear slightly. Emily quickly reaches over and puts the device on speaker, adjusting the volume so the whole neighbourhood doesn't hear Sombra.

"Sooooo, how's it going with your girlfriends?"

Widow's face flushes, her eyes wide as she stares at the phone in shock. "Sombra!"

"What? You are at theirs, right?"

"Not the point, Sombra." she says with a sigh, her face still flushed as she tries to avoid eye contact with either of you. You shoot Emily a look, which she just shrugs at in return, not seeming bothered at all that someone she's never met seems to know exactly how you all feel about each other.

"It's definitely the point blueberry, are you confessing you love them yet orrrrrrrr?"

"Sombra, please. Shut. up" Widow half snarls in frustration, obviously incredibly embarrassed. Emily can't help it then, she starts giggling softly, gently rubbing Widow's arm as she grins at her.

"What? I couldn't hear anything when I hacked into their phones, so I assumed you guys were on the balcony, or something. Wanted to know what was going on"

"Hold on, you hacked my phone!?" you say suddenly, patting your pockets down to realise that you in fact don't have your phone on you. Sombra just snorts in response, sounding incredibly amused.

"Well duh, I'm a hacker, what else am I gonna do?"

"Cherié, you could have just hacked this phone, that makes more sense and causes a lot less drama, non?" Widow says, sounding completely exasperated at this point.

"What would the fun in that be? Plus, I got to look at their texts to see if they've been sharing their secret fantasies about you. Bet you'd like to know what I found, right?"

"Non Sombra…please tell me you called for a reason and not just to cause trouble?"

"Straight down to business as always blueberry. Just wanted to see how things are, not seen any agents hanging around have you?"

"Did a quick check last night and there weren't any" you say, almost cautiously as although you know Sombra is sort of trustworthy because she's helping Widow, you still don't trust her completely.

"Good, things seemed a bit tense last night and was worried they'd sent people your way. But I'm guessing it was tense just from Reaper's sulking, and him giving off that creepy vibe he does"

Widow seems to shudder at the thought of it, screwing her face up as she thinks of the shadowy man in question. You think of all the trouble he's caused, the countless deaths and attacks he's led on behalf of Talon. Luckily your meeting with him yesterday has been the only one on one contact you've had with him, which you're happy about honestly. You're about to mention your meeting with him yesterday, when you remember what Widow said about Sombra hearing it all, and that Sombra probably was the one that saved you.

"'ey, Sombra…you were there yesterday, right? Shot at that creep ta get him away from me?"

"Well don't you have good deduction skills, speedy. I had to keep my blueberry's girlfriends safe. Knew the big monkey could keep Emily safe, then saw you charging off and just knew you'd end up bumping into him, so just followed you for a bit, that's all"

"Sombra, I appreciate you protecting them but…they are not my girlfriends" Widow says, staring hard at the screen as if Sombra can actually see the look she's giving her.

"Well hurry up and ask them out so they can be. Jeez, you guys are useless, treading around the subject like it's a big deal. You all love each other so just hurry up and commit to it!"

"Sombra!"

Widow seems just as flustered and embarrassed as you feel. It's one thing finally admitting your feelings to yourself, but for someone else to say it? It sounds crazy. Crazy that you can love more than one person, especially that other person being someone who before these last few months has been your sworn enemy. You look to Emily, expecting to see the same look on her face, but she's just smiling at you calmly, as if none of this fazes her at all. You have no clue how she can be so calm, this is completely life changing yet she's just smiling at you both like she always does. You realise then, that maybe you're the last one out of all of you to realise exactly what these feelings mean.

"Well, since I've done my part in pushing you guys together, guess I better go. I'll update you if I see any changes around here. Oh, and Emily? Don't forget your meeting at 12!"

"I have a meeting at…do I?" Emily says more to herself than to Sombra and quickly dashes inside to obviously grab her phone and check her calendar. You hear Sombra laugh and say bye before the call ends, leaving just you and Widow standing on the balcony.

Widow sighs softly, looking at you but not quite meeting your gaze. "I…I did not think she'd pull that stunt. She realised my feelings long before I could understand them…I did not think she would ever do this"

"It's fine luv" you find yourself saying before you can really process what she just said. You didn't expect Sombra to say any of that, neither did Widow by the sounds of it. You smile, pushing back the complicated thoughts in your head because now isn't the time to think on them. You have more important things to tend to "How 'bout we go inside and have a cuppa? wake us up a bit"

Widow just stares at you, almost in disbelief as her lips tighten into a thin line and she meets your gaze. "You…You still want me here?"

"Huh? Yeah, of course we still want ya here luv, why wouldn't we?"

"Because I…because this isn't how I expected you to react"

Emily pops her head around the door once again, making you both look at her. She seems to realise she's interrupted somewhat of an important moment and sheepishly smiles at you both. You notice the way her smile makes Widow instantly relax, and realise it has the same effect on you too. Emily has always had that effect on you though, she's your rock, the one you go to when you need comfort. It's strange to think you might have to share her with someone else…but the thought doesn't terrify you like it once before.

"Did I hear someone mention a cuppa? Good thing I've stuck the kettle on" when both of you don't move she pushes the door open a bit more, gesturing for you to come in. "I mean, you could stand out there all morning if you guys want to be weird like that"

You just grin at her, taking a step towards the door but stopping when Widow doesn't follow you straight away. You and Emily both look at her, noticing her eyes are downcast, as there's obviously something on her mind.

"Amé? You coming in?" Emily asks softly, not moving from her place at the door.

"I…I do not want to cause you any trouble"

"Luv, what're talkin' 'bout? We're inviting you in" you say, taking a step towards the assassin and watching as she finally looks up at you. That sadness is in her eyes again, along with something you didn't think you'd ever see. Fear.

"These feelings…they are only going to cause trouble. I don't want that"

"Oh Amé…come sit and have a cuppa with us, and we can talk about it, alright?"

She seems hesitant, her mouth opening as if she has another argument to give to why she shouldn't, but soon gives up. If that's because she really wants to, or from the puppy eyes you know Emily is giving her, you don't know.

You end up all sitting on the couch together, mugs in hands sipping silently. Widow seems to be lost in her thoughts more than enjoying her tea, but you can't blame her. Your own head is a mess, and you're the one who understand your own feelings. You feel bad for her then, and feel so incredibly selfish that you've only been thinking about your own feelings, and only just recently started thinking about Emily's. You've both had each other the entire time through it all though, Widow has been alone with feelings she can't even begin to comprehend.

Emily sets her cup down on the table and turns to Widow who's sitting between you both, a strange look of determination on her face as she meets her gaze. "Right, now we've all had a bit of time to uh, calm down, let's talk"

You also place your cup down, gently prying the cup out of Widows hands, noticing how her hands are trembling slightly as she keeps her eyes locked with Emily's. You've never seen her like this before, the fear and the tension she seems to be feeling is so unlike her. She's normally so cool and collected. The perfect assassin reduced to this because her emotions have been returned to her.

"I will leave if you want me too, I understand if you do" is the first thing she says, more emotion on her face than you've ever seen before. Emily looks taken aback at first, but then smiles softly, reaching over to take her hand in hers.

"And why would we want you to do that?"

"Because this- This is not normal. I feel I'm trespassing on something which I have no business being in"

"Luv…Amé" you say softly, trying out her new nickname. It feels strange to call her something else, but somehow right. You follow Emily's example and take Widow's other hand, even if your own hands are a little bit shaky from how nervous you are about all this too.

"I-" Emily starts, giving you a glance and you nod at her, knowing what she's silently asking your permission to say. "We want you to stay"

"I know you both want to protect me, but with these feelings, I'm only going to cause-"

"-This isn't about protectin' you luv. It started off that way sure, but- but it's different now"

She looks confused, concerned, a thousand emotions flashing across her face as she looks as you. "How could it ever be about anything else? These feelings they're not-"

"-Amé, please, just listen to us, okay?" Emily asks, using her soft calming voice she normally only uses for you when you're upset and need comforting. "What Lena is trying to say is that- that those feelings you're feeling, you don't need to worry about them"

"Non, how can I not be concerned when it means I'm ruining what you have. I may not be doing what Talon wants, but this is just as bad. I should not have come here" She tries to stand to leave but Emily keeps a grip of her hand. You watch in amazement as Emily gives Widow this fierce look and stands up too. She keeps her eyes on Widow, and honestly, the assassin looks pretty intimidated by her.

"You aren't ruining anything, and you aren't listening to us" she sighs, her expression softens, and you take that as your cue to stand with them.

"Those feelings you have, the ones that are confusing and strange, those aren't anything new to any of us. Hell, they've been developing for months. Since that first night where you saved Lena and I from those men. You saved me Amé, you saved both of us. I was never intimidated by you, never scared. And these feelings they-they're natural, why are we fighting them?"

Emily looks to you, obviously expecting you to continue her lovely poetic explanation to make Widow understand, but you're not ready, you have nothing in your head. You have to try though, don't you? "Yeah, so um, ya see luv. Guess tumblin' around with you on those rooftops made an impression, an' like…we want to help you, we just never planned on getting this attached. She's into ya, I'm into ya, so like…"

"You mean…these feelings I'm feeling aren't wrong. You both…"

"God do you ever listen to me? I said your arse and tits are great, what else did ya think I meant?"

Widow looks shocked, probably from the fact you've just reassured her that what she feels towards you both is something you all agree on…and possibly because of your colourful use of language there. You can't help but laugh as Emily starts giggling, obviously not being able to keep a serious face anymore. Widow just stands there watching you both laugh for a moment before she smiles too. Not one of her polite cold smiles, but a real warm smile which makes your stomach flutter slightly.

"Got it then, luv?" you say as you finally stop laughing, reaching for her hand and feeling your heart skip a beat as she actually holds it out for you to take.

"I understand, Cherié…thank you"

/

The next call from Sombra comes three days later. Since your talk with Widow on how her feelings won't ruin everything, she seems calmer but still terribly on edge. You all decided it's way too soon to try figure out how this will work between you all. You have more important things to figure out anyway, like how to free Widow from Talon's grasp.

The call comes when you're all sitting on the couch watching some crap tv show none of you care about. Over the last couple of days, you've been taking it very slow, gently introducing Widow to little touches and seeing how she reacts. At first, she seemed nervous with them, always letting you both hold her hand, or lay a hand on her leg, but she seems really unsure if she's allowed to touch you. It almost seems as if she's scared. You wonder if something happened to make her cautious of her own actions. Which is why it's so nice to see her fingers resting gently on Emily's thigh, all hints of distress gone from her face as she watches the screen.

Her phone buzzing on the coffee table makes her jump, her eyes wide until she realises what it is. You swear you hear her sigh before she reaches for the phone and answers. "Ay blueberry, what's up?"

"You called me, Sombra" she says, still sounding a bit irritated. If that's from your time being interrupted by the call, or by the fact Sombra seems a bit too keen on keeping up to date on things, you don't know. Widow seems to roll her eyes and put the call on speaker, knowing you and Emily both want to hear.

"I know, I know it's just- nevermind. Thought I better check in, you are due back tomorrow after all" is all Sombra says, acting as if she didn't spend all day yesterday texting when she was bored.

"Oui, I know"

"You been keeping a low profile, not going around making a scene or anything?"

"She's been inside with us, no one should know she's here. And you've not seen anything when you've been out, right Lena?" Emily answers for Widow, nudging you gently when she says your name.

"Yeah, no one been skulking 'round anyway. Seems like Reaper's been talkin' out his ass"

Sombra scoffs and you can practically hear the eye roll behind it. "Leave it to him to make up shit just to sound edgy"

You're about to agree and laugh along when you remember how threatening his voice sounded, how smug and sure of himself he was when he said he'd found your weakness. For all you know Talon agents could be monitoring where Widow is and waiting for the moment she leaves so they can storm in and steal Emily away from you, but that wouldn't make sense. They have their agent already in your home, surely they'd just use her, unless Widow is the weakness he talked about. You don't know how they'd deal with it if she is. Surely they would have stopped this 'mission' she's on just now and called her back. It's not like they'd storm in and take her away, they couldn't if they tried, you know she'd kill them without hesitation. You have no clue what their next move is, you have a feeling you're gong to be feeling on edge like this for a while.

Sombra's voice draws you out of your thoughts. "Well all seems normal here. Nothing to report, and it's soooo boring here" she says with a whine, making Emily giggle and Widow roll her eyes. "Least I'll have my spider back tomorrow, had no excuse to get away from work without you here"

"Whatever would you do without me, Cherié" Widow says almost teasingly, and you swear you hear Sombra pouting.

"Yeah yeah, whatever, love you too"

Widow smiles softly at Sombra's words, and that's when you really start to understand just how human the lack of treatments are making her. Before she would have remained stoic, maybe even looked uncomfortable, but now she seems to be processing the emotions. You like to think you've helped her these last few days, but she seems to be doing this on her own. A strange happiness fills you at the thought, maybe it's because she's a step closer to being in the state of mind to fight off Talon, or maybe it's simply because she can finally understand fully how you and Emily feel about her.

"Welp, just been sent a load of work through, gotta go. Keep me updated if anything happens" the screens blank and she's gone before any of you can even think about saying bye. Sombra sure does have a streak for being dramatic, but you guess that's what's so likable about her. You still don't know if you trust her completely, but she's done enough good for you to not shoot her immediately if you ever see her in the battlefield.

It's quiet for a while after that, you all going back to watching the show that's only on for background noise. When the credits roll, Widow stretches beside you, looking just as agitated as you feel. Today has been one of the rare days where you've been stuck in the house all day. It was alright at first, it was nice in fact getting to lie in then have breakfast with both your girls. But then as the day went on, you started feeling trapped and annoyed that you didn't have anywhere to go and burn off some energy. You have no idea how Widow has stayed in here as long as she has, no wonder she looks restless, she's used to being in the battle field and she's been confined to your small flat for days now.

You don't realise you're bouncing your knee restlessly until Emily lays her hand on it and gives it a squeeze. You stop, looking up at her and giving her a sheepish smile. You know what she's going to suggest before the words even leave her mouth.

"Wanna burn off some energy before bed?"

You smirk, raising an eyebrow at her. "That's one way to ask for a quickie, Em"

Not what I meant Len" she says with a grin, batting at your leg before glancing at Widow. "You and Amé haven't had your usual little fight in a few days, fancy a tumble?"

"I am dying to leave this house. You would say the same, wouldn't you Cherié?" Widow says, already standing up and looking your way. She knows by now you'll never say no to a tumble on the rooftops with her. So you don't, you agree, probably a bit too enthusiastically which makes both her and Emily smile at you. Their smiles are different, yet both give you that fluttery feeling in your stomach. You're not used to having the nervous happiness being doubled by their being two girls who you're fond off, but you have a feeling you'll get used to that.

Emily waves you off at the front door, saying she'll put the kettle on in half an hour so you can all unwind with a cup of tea when you get back in. That's all the bribing you need to blink off as quickly as you can to the roof. Widow is close behind you and before you know it you're both standing on the roof of your apartment building, Widow giving you her usual teasing smirk.

"Hope you haven't used all your energy already, Cherie" she practically purrs, obviously just as excited to fight with you as you are with her.

"Never luv, still got all the energy in the world ta kick your arse!"

You rush at her, blinking once to try fool her, but she's too quick as always. She backs up, bringing up her rifle that's slung over her shoulder to fire a quick shot at your side to try get you to back off. Ordinarily you would, but you've been wanting this, craving this, so you rush forward instead. She doesn't expect that clearly as she just manages to side step you, nearly losing her balance in the process.

"Feeling bold today, are we?" she says as she backs off, creating more room between you. You just scoff at her, smirking as ypu push your hair out of your face.

"I'm just gettin' started luv"

You rush at her again, bringing your guns out from their holsters and shooting at her feet. She effortlessly backflips out the way, giving you a very impressive view of her ass, and you have to remind yourself then that now is not the time to get distracted by that. You're so distracted telling yourself not to get distracted that the few shots she fires your way only just miss you. Your eyes go wide as you look at her, seeing the smirk on her face grow.

"Oi, you did that on purpose!"

"Can't help what you're distracted by Cherié, I just use it to my advantage"

You half growl at her as you yet again try to charge at her, blinking right up to her face and trying to get a hit in. You seem to catch her by surprise as you do get a hit in, but not enough to do much. Her eyes narrow at you as you try again, and again.

You lose track of how long it goes on for, both of you firing odd shots and getting punches and kicks in when you can. That is until you manage to blink basically on top of her and use all your strength to knock her to the ground. You both land with a thud, her groaning softly as your weight presses down on her. You're filled with such glee at technically having won your battle that you don't realise you're straddling her body, your face incredibly close to hers, until she opens her eyes and your eyes meet.

Neither of you know what to say, both just staring at each other. Her eyes flicker to your lips, then back to your eyes. She wants to kiss you, which well, it's great because you want to kiss her, but you didn't think it would happen so soon. You've always imagined if it were to happen it would happen like this, or in some dark alleyway where no one can see you.

Just as she's done before, she brings her hand up to brush against your cheek, it finding it's place there and cupping it as she leans up towards you. You know you aught to lean down and be more into this, but you're frozen. It's not that you don't want this, it's the opposite really, you just can't believe it's finally happening. You close your eyes, waiting for her lips to touch yours...but they don't.

You feel her hand moving from your cheek and down your jaw to your neck. You open your eyes then, seeing her eyes are very much open and she has a strange look in them. Her hand presses hard against your neck when it gets there, not enough to do any real damage but it hurts a bit. You try to back off of her, panic rising as her other hand comes to squeeze at your neck and keep you in place.

"Come on luv, this is a bit kinky for a first kiss" you say, as well as you can with her squeezing at your neck. You expect to get a smirk and for her to stop, but she doesn't, it doesn't even seem like she hears you. You know your in trouble then, serious trouble.

You grab at her hands, prying them off with all your strength and managing to pull them off just enough to back off of her. You try to back away from her, your mind racing as you try to figure out what's going on. She's on her feet instantly, already lunging at you before you can properly find your feet. You blink away quickly, praying to every god ever that you'll land on your feet and have a chance to get a good look at her before she attacks you again, so you can try figure out what the hell is wrong with her. You stand there looking at her, her eyes empty as she looks into yours, almost as if she isn't herself.

"Oi Widow, try not kill me, we're only playing" you say, hoping to snap her out of whatever the hell has come over her. She only seems to growl, taking her rifle in hand and firing a few shots at you. You need to blink out the way or they would have hit you, will hit you if you don't keep moving as she's firing at you again and again, not letting you rest as she normally does.

Your panting, sweat dripping down your face as you try to outrun her, but she's always too fast, always too cunning, knowing exactly what you're about to do next. You press your hand to your side as you watch her carefully, trying to ground yourself, but a pain stabs into your consciousness. You look at your hand and see blood, panic rippling through you as you glance to your side and see you've been hit. As you look at her it finally hits you what's come over her.

Widowmaker, the girl brainwashed into becoming a deadly assassin…of course they'd implant a kill switch in her head. The lack of Talon agents suddenly makes sense, and how Reaper seemed so sure of your weakness. You never planned on him literally using your weakness against you. As you're trying desperately to figure out what to do she comes flying at you, eyes ablaze but empty at the same time as she grabs your throat with both hands and pushes you to the ground. She pushes down, harder and harder while your nails uselessly claw at her unmoving hands. You can hear yourself choking, but your vision and hearing is getting more and more muffled as she pushes down harder. The anger and emptiness in her eyes is terrifying, the tears threating to fall from your eyes do as you say her name.

"Amé…Please, don't…y-you- this isn't you, luv"

Her hands seem to stop pushing for a moment, her eyes staring at you and widening before she grabs her head and screams. Her scream is piercing, horrifying and tortured. The same scream you've heard on those videos in her file. You can't get away, your body not doing as you want it to. You can only gasp at the air, swallowing greedily.

Widow seems to be sobbing, still holding her head in her hands as she's doubled over in pain. When she looks up, and your eyes meet hers, the pain in her eyes is indescribable. You want to reach out to her, tell her it's okay, and she's safe, but you know that isn't the truth.

"Lena- g-go. I can not-" she says, interrupting herself with another scream as she seems to claw at the side of her neck "GO!"

You scramble to your feet, your knees week beneath you as pain stabs at your side. You blink as far as you can, looking back to see Widow is gone. You try to think about what you should do, if you should phone someone, but your mind is fuzzy. You don't realise you've hit the ground until you feel the tough stones against your cheek. You can barely keep your eyes open, but Widow is the only thought on your mind.

You awake with your head pounding, and your side throbbing. You can't remember what you were doing, why you're here. Your eyes are heavy, the blood from your wound seeping through your twitching fingers when you hear her voice.

"Lena, Amé? You guys still out here?"

Emily. Shit. You can't let her see you like this, you just can't. You try to lift your body, but you can't move. You close your eyes tight, fighting the urge to cry as you hear Emily's footsteps get closer. It's all your fault. It's all. Your. fault.

"Lena!" you hear Emily almost shout as she rushes over to you. "What happened, where's Amé?" you try to reply but all you can taste is blood on your lips. When you pry your eyes open, Emily looks terrified, her eyes scanning over your body desperately as she obviously tries to think what to do. A tear slips down your cheek as you watch her own tears flow.

"Lena...no. No…who did this…oh god" she cries, her voice shaky and filled with fear. You want to comfort her so badly, but your eyes are so so heavy. You can't help her, you couldn't help Widow, what good are you?

"Tell me what to do, oh god Len please what do I do?!"

"'m sorry, Em" you manage to say, feeling as if your drifting away from her. Further and further away until your body is numb, and her cries are only distant.

"Lena!"


	9. Chapter 9

You awake with a start, the lights too bright, and the voices too loud. You can't see, can't hear. It's deafening, blinding. It's too much, all too much. You want it to stop, want for your brain to figure out what the hell is going on. You feel empty, alone. Like you're falling and can't stop. You don't want to fade away, you won't, you can't. There's a panicked voice beside you, high and thrill, barking orders as you hear someone sobbing. It almost sounds like…

"Can you hurry up!? Surely you can go faster. We don't have time to stick to rules"

"But ma'am, I can't just-"

"-Do it! I have her stabilised, but I don't know for how long. If her accelerator gives out, we'll lose her for good!"

Angela's voice is harsh and sharp, her commands being directed at…someone? The bright lights start to dim as you blink slowly, it's obvious that you're on an airship, probably being carried towards the Gibraltar HQ once again. You can see the low dim glow of your accelerator, it becoming apparent there's something wrong with it. All you can hear is the soft hum of the engine, and you find your eyes closing again, your consciousness fading slowly until-

"Emily…I know you're upset, but if you don't tell me what happened, you'll have to tell Winston or the captain. Surely telling me is the easiest option?"

You hear Emily take a small shaky breath, it breaking as she sobs towards the end of it. "I…oh god I don't- I don't think I can"

She sounds so broken, so sad, nothing like your Emily. Your happy and amazing Emily, who you love so so much. You want to tell her it's okay, but you can't force your eyes open long enough to even try concentrate on her. Not that you want to. Emily doesn't cry, and you hate to see her when she does. You want to say something, do anything to make her feel better, but your mind is foggy, it takes you several seconds to even remember why you're here in this situation. And when you remember, you feel a sharp sting right in your chest. You should have known really, loving someone like Widowmaker could only end badly.

You hear Angela sigh, and her footsteps as she takes, what you guess are, a few steps towards Emily. Emily's soft sobs soften slightly as Angela shushes her. You feel completely powerless just lying here, your mind struggling to keep up with anything that's going on. You guess that's due to the blood loss, or your stupid life saving device not doing its job properly. It's more likely to be the blood loss though, since Angela won't have been able to stop the bleeding entirely, thanks to her limited supply of nano tech. Angela has always been confident in her medical abilities, but you see that confidence falter more and more with her lack of proper tech.

"Leibling, Emily" you hear Angela say softly. "You know you can't be held accountable for what happened. Neither you nor Lena will get in trouble for this. If it was a Talon attack, we need to know"

There's a tense silence, and using all your will, you manage to force your eyes open. It takes you a moment, but you manage to lazily focus on Emily's face. Her eyes are puffy, and although she seems calm, she's shaking ever so slightly. You've never seen her this upset in all the time you've known her.

She looks into Angela's eyes, and honestly, she looks broken. The look reminds you of how someone else's eyes usually look, and that just brings back the stabbing in your heart. She exhales shakily, looking like she might speak, but then doesn't. Angela lays a hand on Emily's and says her name to try get her to talk, but Emily interrupts her.

"Okay…yes, it was Talon, I think. I just found her like that though, I don't know who-"

"-Emily, I think you do know" Is all Angela says, her eyes colder now, looking almost…angry? She has that look she gets when she's proved right and hates it. But why would she? Why does she have that look unless…

"Hey, Angie, leave 'er alone will ya" you manage to say, your throat dry and your head reeling.

"Lena!?" Emily asks, a bit too loudly for your liking and you wince. She rushes over and just looks at you with tears still swelling in her eyes. She looks a lot of things, upset obviously, maybe a little bit angry, but most of all she looks relieved.

"You're awake" Angela says, her eyes softer than before, but you can tell there's still something on her mind.

You hum at her, not daring to try sit up as you know both of them will pounce on you. "Them Talon bastards got me pretty good"

"It…it was Talon then?" Emily asks, her hand tightening around yours with an almost desperate look in her eyes. You know exactly what she's asking, she's asking if Widow did this to you. You thought you'd have no problem answering her, have no problem telling her that the assassin hurt you again…but this time it's different. You don't want to, not only because your pride and feelings are hurt, but also because you know it's going to break Emily's heart. She's put so much into this, so much time and effort and emotion, and it could all easily be torn away by your next words.

Angela's eyes narrow at you slightly, probably because of how conflicted you look over the simple question. You know she's figured it out, or figured something out anyway. She knows this isn't just a normal Talon attack. It occurs to you that she could actually be thinking a lot worse than you think. That you're in affiliation with Talon and have betrayed Overwatch. But she knows you'd never do that, knows very well you'd rather die than work for them. But by the look she's giving you now, you're not so sure.

"Care to tell us what happened, Lena?" Angela asks, her voice low, and by the way she says your name you know you're definitely in trouble. It's the way she sounded when she confronted you about the Widowmaker file, and that was one of the scariest experiences you've had with her.

"They caught be by surprise is all Angie. Was out on the rooftops for a bit of fun, 'nd suddenly this bullet wizzes past me, and I'm like what? Was just some Talon guys and I should have been able to take them, but they got me, and like I couldn't recall. I was stupid that's all, it wasn't anything bad"

Angela doesn't look convinced at all, she looks to Emily who Is trying her hardest to just look away "…So Talon only sent foot soldiers, even after Reaper's threat? That doesn't seem like them"

"It's a weird time for them luv, they just got their asses kicked by us a few days ago. Everythin' is probably all out of sync 'nd that"

Angela sighs deeply, bringing a hand up to rub her temples before she meets your eyes, looking more serious than you've ever seen her before. "Lena, you must tell me the truth"

"I am! Why would I lie to you?"

"Because you've been so secretive and just…just not yourself lately Lena. You have to understand how this looks"

"No I haven't, luv. I've just bene busy and-"

"-Dr. Zeigler? T minus 10 minutes until arrival" The airships captain says over the intercom, thankfully managing to interrupt you and stop the tense situation. Angela takes a deep breath and nods, obviously trying to calm herself down.

"I'm sorry leibling…I…I'm having trouble at the moment with some things, I shouldn't be taking it out on you. How is your pain?"

You don't know what to say, what to even think. You know you shouldn't be lying to Angela, she's one of your best friends and yet -and yet you can't tell her. You've already gone over this, you know what you're doing is wrong. But you definitely can't tell her now, it will cause way more trouble than it's worth. Although knowing Widow has a kill switch is really, really useful information, you know you can't tell anyone without revealing just how close you've gotten to the enemy. God, you're so stupid for thinking this would ever end well.

"Hurts like hell luv, can't recommend getting' shot" you finally say, trying to keep up your usual attitude although your head is fuzzy. You're struggling to keep your eyes open again and you can see the panic evident on Emily's face when you nearly fall unconscious again. But you manage to force your eyes open still.

"sleep leibling, we'll talk more later" Is all Angela says, still looking conflicted but obviously putting on a front so Emily doesn't panic. You trust her, of course you do, but you're not sure you want to go to sleep. Mostly because when you wake up again, you know exactly the sort of things you'll be asked. But you don't have much of a choice, even if you wanted to stay awake you can't.

As you slip into unconsciousness, the only thought on your mind is you hope Widow is having a better time than you are. She shot you, you should really hold some sort of resentment towards her, but you can't. God, you just really hope she's okay.

You seem to fade in and out of consciousness, catching bits of odd conversation but nothing really sticks with you. You hear Emily crying, Winston's worried voice, and of course Angela barking more orders. You know you shouldn't be feeling this delirious and…well weird from just a simple gunshot wound. You have a feeling some more damage must have been done. You just hope to every god that it won't cause you to fade away again. Panic ripples through you at the thought, but your mind isn't aware enough for the emotion to fully form. Things come to you in snippets, you can't focus on anything for very long.

"Angela, if she's telling the truth, you know what this means"

Winston's voice wakes you again. You don't know how much time has passed, but you find yourself feeling more grounded. Your eyes flutter open and you realise you're in the medical bay. Last time you opened your eyes you weren't here…or maybe you were? You can't tell what's a dream and what's real. Your head still feels messed up, but for some reason you know this is real and you're here now. You blink lazily, watching Angela and Winston standing by the door, facing away from you. You're trying to figure out what they're talking about when Angela answers him with an irritated sigh.

"Of course I do Winston. Do you think I wanted to hear it?"

"No- no, of course not. It's just…Lena is smarter than that, isn't she?"

Your name makes your ears prick up of course…but you don't understand what they're talking about. It crosses your mind that they could be talking about Widow but, but they don't know. You remember Angela acting strangely on the airship, how she seemed to be cold and conflicted when Emily said she didn't know what happened. You thought maybe she'd figured everything out…but then she wouldn't be talking about this like she's been told the information by someone.

"You know her better than anyone. She's impulsive and reckless. This is the sort of thing we knew would happen eventually"

Winston pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose, shaking his head slowly. "I can't believe I believed her…"

"We all did Winston…but I don't think she did it on purpose. I questioned her about her involvement with Ame-" She stops abruptly, her eyes widening. Winston looks at her almost sadly, moving to touch her shoulder but she turns away from him slightly. "With- with Widowmaker. Lena lied, but I knew something was wrong, she had this look in her eye. Thank god Emily has some common sense"

It dawns on you then exactly what's happened. You need them to stop talking right now, you don't want to hear this. You don't want to hear their disapproving comments, what they think about all this. They don't understand, they never could. You know exactly what they're going to say when they realise you're awake, but you don't care. Your head can't take this just now, you need to let them know what you thought you were trying to do. Although that's a bit difficult now as you have no clue what the hell you were even trying to do. Rescuing her was one mission, the reality you've found both yourself and Emily in is a whole other.

"She said she had no clue Widowmaker could be so dangerous, that she was kind to them both…I find it hard to believe that Talon's famous assassin could have been kind to anyone. She was so upset when she finally told me everything that I didn't want to lecture her…but, if Lena won't protect her, she needs to protect herself and be wary of Overwatch's enemies"

"…If what Emily is saying is really true though-"

"-Then we have much bigger problems, yes" Angela says, her eyes glancing in your direction then doing a double take as she sees you're awake. Winston looks over too, just staring for a moment before looking at Angela. Angela looks like a deer in headlights with her eyes wide as if she's just been caught doing something she shouldn't be. Winston coughs uncomfortably, looking away as if he's trying to find an escape, or at least something to talk about since he knows they've been caught talking about you. Angela is the first to talk, her composure coming back as she approaches your bed.

"You're awake again, good" Is all she says, glancing back at Winston as if telling him to come closer. He takes the hint, hurrying over.

"Ah yes, very good. Your accelerator was damaged, and it was a bit touch and go for a while, but everything seems to be in working order now. You must have taken quite the hit to it by…uh…" he trails off, obviously not wanting to overstep his mark.

"Thanks, big guy, doc…you guys are too good to me" You say softly, not meeting either of their gazes. They're both looking at you with this look of pity you know all to well. You all know what needs to be said, it's just a question of who will say it first. You should really explain everything, or at least try to. But you can't, you don't know where to even begin. Especially since you've gotten Emily involved. You know you shouldn't have, and look what's happened because of it.

"Lena…we need to talk to you" Winston says, his gaze fixed on you with a new look in his eye. He seems serious, not like his normal goofy self. It scares you a bit honestly, or maybe what's scaring you is having to admit what you're feeling to your two best friends.

"I'm assuming you heard us before but- but we need to talk about it. None of the higher ups have heard about this-"

"-Although we definitely should be telling them" Angela butts in, her words practically venom with the way she says them. Her eyes are cold and distant, you've never seen her look like this. You guess it's because you've betrayed her trust…you've betrayed both of them though, haven't you? You and Emily were too wrapped up in saving Widow that the consequences didn't seem to matter.

"…Yes, as Angela says, we should be telling them…but we won't, for now." Winston sighs, hesitating for a moment before looking into your eyes. "Emily told us everything"

"Winston, big guy." You start to say, the hurt in his eyes breaking your heart in two. You have no clue what to say, how to even begin explaining yourself. You try to open your mouth to say something, anything, but Angela beats you to it.

"Everything Lena, she told us everything that's happened the last few months. How you've been meeting up with her- the enemy. We trusted you Lena. We warned you about her, and you do this! I just- I…leibling…how could you do this to us?"

You should feel regret, or at least some sort of resentment with how hurt Angela looks. But instead you feel angry, really really angry. She doesn't understand, all she knows about Widow is that she was brainwashed and now kills people. She hasn't seen her the way you or Emily have seen the assassin these last few months. You've never felt the urge to lash out at Angela, but you really want to now.

"I didn't do it to hurt ya!" You find yourself shouting, your face feeling hot with rage. "I noticed there was somethin' wrong and tried to help!"

Angela just rolls her eyes, looking at you as if you're a spoiled child throwing a temper tantrum. "Joining, or at least plotting with the enemy, is not helping anyone Lena"

"Oh for fucks sake! I didn't join Talon or anythin'! She was hurting, wanted me to kill 'er and I tried to help, is that so wrong Angie!?"

She looks taken aback, as if finally, something has made sense to her. Maybe this reminds her of how she used to be, so confident and full of hope for everyone. She thought she could fix any problem, fix anyone. Widow proved her wrong on that. "You should have come to see me. You should have told me about it then I- I could have-"

"-Could 'ave done what exactly? 'm not stupid, I know what you would have done!"

"She's the enemy Lena, and with what she's done. She killed her husband, killed countless people including Mondata. You've fought her many times, you know how dangerous she is!"

"But Angie-"

"-No Lena, there are no buts here. You put yourself in danger, put Overwatch in danger. I can't believe you could be so careless. What about Emily, did you even consider what this meant for her, for her safety? She could have been-"

"-Killed? What like Gerard? Like everyone else? And who's fault is that exactly? Who said she was fine in the first place!?"

There's a stunned silence in the room. You thought Angela would have shouted back at you, would have at least told you off, but she's just standing there white as a sheet. You know you shouldn't have said it, you know letting Amelie kill Gerard and become Widowmaker is Angela's biggest regret. But…you kind of had to say it. Not to upset Angela, but to maybe make her think on this differently. She's always had a high moral compass and likes to define things as black and white, but when it comes to Widow, there will always be that morally grey area. She isn't good or bad, maybe she's a bit of both, or maybe she's neither. Angela simply can't put this issue into one of her neat little boxes, because there will never be a simple solution.

"That's enough, both of you" Winston finally says, cutting through the tension and drawing both of your attentions to him. He sighs deeply, looking so disappointed and upset as he meets your eye.

"We trusted you Lena, we trusted Emily too. And if you meant to or not, you both betrayed us. If Talon hadn't attacked you, then we would have had bigger concerns that you were on their payroll…We know you Lena, we know you wouldn't betray us. But this- this is something serious"

"I…" You can't find the words to say, the regret finally catching up to you as you see how upset they both look with you. You love them both so much, they're your best friends, and you never meant to hurt them. "'m really sorry, it's just…I just wanted to help 'er guys. I didn't mean to hurt you"

Winston sighs again, taking out a tablet looking device and tapping the screen a few times "I have to write an official report on this. Anything about the fight you want to tell me?"

You know you have nothing else to lose so you tell him. The whole and entire truth instead of the lie you've been rehearsing. You thought it would make things better, but it just seems to make both him and Angela more distraught. You don't know if it's the news of Widow having a kill switch, or the fact you've admitted to letting a Talon assassin live in your flat with you and your girlfriend…or what that implicates.

Winston makes a few final notes before giving you a look. His eyes are dull, and he has a frown permanently on his face. "I need to file this report. I won't write all the details because of the circumstances…But just know Lena…if this ever happens again, I won't be so kind" and with that he leaves, leaving you and Angela in an unbearably tense silence.

"I…I'm sorry, luv" You find yourself saying, catching both you and Angela off guard. You realise you're being an asshole, and incredibly selfish. After admitting to all this you have to try make things at least a little bit right.

Angela looks like she wants to say something, but her face crumbles and she bows her head. "I am being unfair Lena, I've always been unfair on you when it comes to your attachment to Widowmaker…it's my own issue, my own stubbornness and fear stopping me from seeing your point of view. You've always seen the good in her, and I never believed you. The night she murdered Gerard has haunted me for a long time, I've never been able to see past what she did"

"'m sorry Angie" you mumble, having no clue what to say to her. On one hand you should be delighted she actually understands your point of view, but on the other, she's admitting she has this deep trauma stuff you can't even begin to help her with.

"It's okay leibling…I just" She pauses, her gaze finally meeting yours again. "Just help me understand one thing?"

"Yeah, luv?" you answer softly, trying to sound as much like your old self as you can, but it doesn't carry. You can't be the happy Tracer who cheers everyone up now, not with what you've just caused.

"You love her- and you love Emily. You love them both, don't you?"

"I…I don't know luv" You answer honestly. "I just wanted to help 'er, and with Emily with me we felt unstoppable. I thought we could save 'er and everything would be fine…I don't know what everything else means"

She looks conflicted, like something is weighing heavily on her mind. "You…You would do anything to protect them both, wouldn't you?"

"Without question. Emily is my entire world, and Widow…Widow is something else" You pause, trying to figure out what Angela is trying to say with all this. "…Angie, you're sayin' this like you know what you're talking about"

She smiles then, this tiny little sad smile that you can see the heart break within. "I would have done anything for her back then too"

You're in the med bay for all of two days thanks to Angela's tech and ability, and it's bittersweet when you get out. Emily has kept her distance, sending messages to you through Angela as she seems to be a bit cautious on how to handle everything. Angela has tried to reassure you this is perfectly normal, and Emily is being smart by staying away. After all, you're both being watched very closely in case you really are with Talon. As much as you've liked having Angela's company for the last few days you can't wait to finally see Emily again. You know you may be being watched closely, but they can't expect you two not to want privacy in your room together.

With a slight skip in your step you make your way to your room, your mind on how much you've missed Emily. Widow also comes to mind, just fleeting thoughts wondering if she's okay. The more you admit to yourself that you feel something for her, the easier it is to stop punishing yourself for thinking of her. You miss her, and you're worried about her, but somehow you feel she's alright. If anything terrible had happened, surely Sombra would have found a way to contact you. She seems like she could track you down and give you a talking to, no matter where you are.

You're so lost in your thoughts that you don't see Jack Morrison standing in your way with his arms crossed, before it's nearly too late. If you were any normal person you would have crashed into him, but you quickly blink backwards, giving him your best cheeky smile and hoping he isn't about to give you a lecture.

"Hiya Captain" You say with a grin, pushing any negative feelings away and putting on your best façade. He knows what happened, of course he does, and you don't want to appear off to him, and give him anything else to think on.

"Oxton" he says coolly, his usual professional tone present as always. He seems to hesitate for a moment before he speaks again "I've just read Winston's final report, Talon used a kill switch in Widowmaker then?"

"Yup, terrifying stuff luv. She was all out of control an' that"

He purses his lips, looking to be in thought before he speaks again. "And how do you know what she's like normally, Oxton?"

The grin falls from your face then "…what"

"You were quoted saying she wasn't acting like herself. And then, just there, you said she seemed out of control. You've only seen her on the battlefield during missions, where all she's done is cause havoc and kill people. I wouldn't say that's normal?"

"Captain, c'mon, you're over doin' it a bit 'ere. I just meant she wasn't acting all arrogant and stuck up like normal. Seemed hell bent on killing me"

The look on his face tells you he doesn't believe you one bit. It seems he's a bit too clued in on this, even if Winston did leave out the fact your relationship with Widowmaker is personal, he seems to know it's more than the report lets on.

You shuffle from one foot to the other awkwardly, looking at the floor and trying to figure out how to get away from this. "Look, captain, I gotta go to Em, she's waitin' for me-"

"-And how did you escape Widowmaker exactly?"

"I really 'ave to-"

"-Answer the question Oxton, that's an order"

You hesitate, not liking how he's looking at you at all. There's a look you can't read on his face, and for the first time in your life, you actually feel a bit scared of him. You don't really want to tell him exactly how it all happened, about how she managed to fight off whatever they'd done to her long enough to let you get away, long enough to take herself off somewhere were she couldn't hurt you. If you told him that, then he'd definitely know your relationship with her is a bit more than rivals.

"I…I got away, luv. Surely that's not important"

He just gives you a pointed look. "She's been brainwashed to believe her only purpose in life is to kill, so why would she suddenly let you live, unless she wanted you to"

"Captain-"

"-Oxton" to your surprise he doesn't look angry. He looks uneasy sure, but you think that might be because of what he's about to say. "We've all found comfort in dark places, but with an enemy, it's dangerous, traitorous, nothing good ever comes out of it"

The tone he uses suggests that he's talking from experience, that maybe he's been in a situation like yours, and he made the same mistake. Although you doubt it was in a situation quite as strange as yours, or even quite as dangerous. Although it does make you curious to who he's 'found comfort in' in the past.

"Sir…There's nothin' like that going on. I knew there was a threat and so was on watch then she turned up. Widowmaker's never been one to fight like that, she's always cocky an' that, always taunting at me an' keepin' her distance"

He nods, but it's like he's not even listening to you. Just thinking of the next point of his lecture. "Don't make a mistake other good soldiers have, do not ever trust the enemy"

You're starting to get really tired of everyone telling you she's dangerous, and the enemy, and that you shouldn't even be near her. They don't know her, they have no idea what she's really like when she isn't completely under Talon's control.

"C'mon Captain, she can't be that bad" you say, trying to calm yourself down and defuse the situation a little. You want to joke and smile until everything is okay, but he just looks at you sternly, seemingly finding what you've just said the worst thing imaginable.

"She is an enemy of Overwatch who has killed several important political figures. She killed one of our own agents, her husband of all people, Oxton. When we tell you she's dangerous, we're telling you because we know, we lived through it"

"You lived through Talon first gettin' too her, you ever think that she's different now!?"

He seems as taken aback by your anger as you are. You realise too late that you shouldn't have said that, especially given what that implies. "And do you think you know her now, really? You fight her to help your team, you know nothing about her. She's evil, and will never be able to redeem herself"

"You don't know that!"

"Face reality Oxton, You're not the super hero you think you are, you cannot save her"

You can't take it anymore, you're so angry that you want to rip out his throat. Everyone keeps saying how dangerous she is and how wrong it is, but they don't even listen when you tell them she isn't like that at all. You know it's childish, but you want to get away, and so you do. You zip past him quickly, darting to your room and only stopping to reflect on what you've done when you stop to open the door. You're probably be in trouble for running off while talking to a superior, but you don't care. You just want to see Emily, she understands all these stupid things you're feeling.

You sigh, deciding to push it all to the back of your mind and get some well-deserved cuddles from your girlfriend. The door to your bedroom opens with a small beep when you scan your card and step inside. Emily is lying on your bed, a book in hand which she lowers, her face lighting up when she sees it's you.

"Lena, finally!" she grins, putting her book aside and getting up to hug you tightly. You hug her back, burying your face in her neck with a happy sigh.

"God, missed you Em"

She giggles softly, pulling back from you a little, so she can place a soft kiss to your forehead. "Missed you too, been bored out my mind here"

"Yeah, thought ya might be…is work ready to kill you for missin' all your shifts?"

"Nah, just taking it as sick pay. They don't really care"

You smile at her, the familiar happy buzz in your chest from hearing her just talk about something as boring as work. She's always had this effect on you, you're glad she still does after everything you've both been through these last few months.

"Was worried this would be weird" you half mumble to yourself, not really sure you want her to hear it, but from the way she stops talking and looks at you strangely, you know she definitely has heard you.

"Weird? Why would it be weird?" she asks gently, her eyes meeting yours with a strange look in them. She looks concerned, maybe even a bit confused at what you could mean. You think you see a hint of worry in there, but you can't be sure.

"I don't know, all the weird secrecy an' That. You know, with all the messages with Angie an' stuff"

"I did it so they didn't catch on to anything…they're already worried enough" She says with a shrug, giving your arm a little squeeze. "…and honestly, I needed a bit of time to myself, to get my thoughts sorted out, hopefully you had that time too?"

You want to tell her that it's alright and of course you expect her to be freaked out by this. She found you bleeding to death on a rooftop and had to call Overwatch to come help. You'd be surprised if she didn't need some time to herself after that. You really do want to just say it's fine and move on…but you can't. You remember the feeling of dread in your stomach when Winston told you Emily had told them everything. You know logically she had too, or she just wasn't in the right mindset to hide your secrets forever, but that doesn't stop you feeling hurt. Maybe you're being selfish or unreasonable, but you don't understand why she did it. You guess it was because she was scared and upset, but before she seemed just as hell bent on keeping this a secret as you were. You don't know what to say to her, but you know you have to say something, just so you don't overthink all this.

"…Why did you tell them?"

Emily just looks at you for a moment before she bites her lip and averts her eyes. "Len…I had to. They kept questioning me they- I couldn't lie to them forever"

You know she was going to say something like that, but you're not really expecting it. You thought she would be more loyal, to you and to Widow. It seemed all so good before this…so why did she do it. Although you really should be sympathetic, and telling her you forgive her, you can feel that same rage building that you felt earlier.

"You could 'ave Em. You're supposed to be protectin' Widow, not throwin' her to the wolves"

She takes a step back from you, looking somewhere between amused and annoyed as she raises an eyebrow at you. "Overwatch are wolves now? I thought they were your friends?"

You're taken aback by her tone, she rarely talks to you like this. You haven't fought that many times with Emily, she's mostly very chill, but when you have fought she's sounded a lot like this. "They are, of course they are. I just mean- we said we wouldn't tell them, that they couldn't help 'er"

Emily chooses her next words carefully, her eyes staying on yours like she's trying to drill what she's saying into your head. "They…they really aren't the bad guys here…if anything, she is"

"What?" you ask, thinking you must have misheard her. She always defended Widow no matter what, always said she was good really.

"She tried to kill you Lena, she would have succeeded if I hadn't found you"

"No she wouldn't, I was okay. You- Em you don't get it, you didn't see what I saw"

"And what exactly was that? What did she do that you're still defending her?"

"They used their control over 'er against me, she was fine one minute, then the next she was tryin' to kill me. She wasn't herself she was…it was like she wasn't there. But she stopped herself, told me to run an' saved my life"

Emily shakes her head violently, looking more and more upset the more you tell her. "No- no we can't trust her then. If they still have control over her, we're not safe"

"But they don't, it was a kill switch in her head. If we get rid of it she'll be fine, she'll be-"

"-And what if it doesn't work? I…I hate to say it Len…but if it doesn't work, we can't help her. We can't help her if she's under their control in any way"

You know she's right, but you can't help but feel angry. It was supposed to be you two against the world, saving Widow no matter what. And now what? She's giving up because of one little thing. You know it's a big thing to be considered, but you can't give up on her because of it. You're too invested …you thought Emily was too.

"You said you wanted to save her, why don't you now? You were her best friend, defending her against everything, and now you're acting like she's completely evil"

"She nearly killed you Lena! She's dangerous. I should have listened to them…" Emily snaps, her voice loud and sharp as she raises her voice.

"How can you give up on her like this? you were all about saving her and getting her away from Talon, and now you're sounding just like Winston and Angie! I thought you were the one person I could trust Em!"

She opens her mouth to reply, but stops, closing it again and looking away. "You can trust me, of course you can. It just- It actually makes sense now. I was stuck in this stupid fantasy land with you, believing we could redeem her" she says, getting angrier and angrier as she speaks, finally looking at you with fire in her eyes "And look where it's gotten us Lena!"

You know you should stop, should apologize, and move on before you say something you can't take back. But you can't, the rage inside you getting bigger and bigger with each passing second. You're angry, oh so angry at everyone. No one is listening to you and you're so sick of it

"Everyone keeps saying she's dangerous and a threat, but she isn't! You know that Em, you've seen the good in her, you've seen-"

"-I thought I had. I…I really thought I had seen what you see in her but…but I can't, I just can't. She hurt you Lena, she nearly killed you, and you're still like this" She sighs, bowing her head "What is it going to take to get you to give up?"

There are tears making their way down her cheeks when she meets your eyes again. You feel a stab of pain seeing her like this, but you don't dare stop her when she turns away and goes to leave.

"Em, c'mon, don't be like this" You try to say, it coming out quietly as the adrenaline fades away and the overwhelming ache in your heart settles. You know you've fucked up, you know you shouldn't have said any of those things. "Em, please."

She gives you one last tearful looking before opening the door and running off. You know you could easily catch up to her, but you don't want to. It's better you let her have her space, and you've just proved you definitely need some space of your own to clear your head.

You sigh heavily as you sit on the bed, placing your head in your hands. You feel like you might cry, but you don't, you can't. You just sit there, wondering what the hell you've done. You've managed to push everyone you hold dear away, and for what? For someone who at any time could just turn and try to kill you. You want to believe you can save her, but now you're not so sure.


	10. Chapter 10

If you had to pick a word to describe the last few days, you'd have to pick torturous. No one looks at you like they used to, no one even smiles at you. You knew things would be bad when Overwatch found out what you'd been doing, but you didn't think it could be quite this bad. No one trusts you, they all look at you with this uneasy stare and quickly scuttle away when you catch them looking. You didn't think it would ever be this bad, but obviously you were wrong.

Angela is becoming the only person who seems to act like a normal person around you, and you hate it. You didn't mean to hurt them, you didn't mean to hurt anyone, you were just trying to help someone in need, and look where its gotten you. You didn't think you were someone who really needed the approval of people until now.

"Something on your mind, leibling?"

Her voice snaps you back to the harsh reality of it all, and all you can do is sigh and shrug in response. She furrows her brow slightly, hesitating for a moment before stepping away from her desk.

"Lena, I know things have been…difficult around here recently, but it will pass"

"I just…I don't know 'bout that Angie. Should 'ave seen the look Winston gave me the other day, think he actually hates me now"

She opens her mouth to reply but seems to think better of it. Instead, she gently touches your shoulder, the gesture saying something she never could with words. That she trusts you still, that she would have done what you did if she could. From what you've talked about, it seems she's done some things just as bad as you have, although back then it was all under the guise of actually helping people. So the only thing she had to answer to was her own conscience. You two really aren't so different, she's just a lot better at hiding her demons than you'll ever be.

"have you…have you heard from Emily?" Angela asks softly, removing her hand from your shoulder but not moving away from you just yet.

Your friends hating you is one thing, but the way things stand with Em…that's definitely something that's been on your mind a lot. "Yeah, she's home safe. All she's said to me…don't think she really wants to talk to me either"

"She'll be fine Lena. You'll be home with her soon, and all this will be behind you both"

"I don't know if it will be, luv…I just…think I fucked up real bad this time, I can't fix things with everyone"

Angela sighs, making her way back to her desk. For a moment you think she's about to tell you to get out and let her do her work. That is until you notice she's staring at a particular piece of paper in her hand. She stares at it hard, her eyes looking lost like she's stuck in a memory. She shakes her head, her eyes meeting yours as you slowly approach her.

For the first time you seem to notice the small photo album on her desk. It's opened to about half way through, and inside a picture of Angela and Amelia, arms wrapped around each other tight as they grin at the camera. The picture underneath it is similar as well, except Angela isn't looking at the camera, she's looking at Amelie with a look you know all too well. It's…strange to see them together like this, both looking so happy. You guessed there was something between them, what exactly that was you don't know, but you can tell by the pictures that maybe their relationship wasn't quite as platonic as everyone once thought.

You expected her to try hide the pictures, but Angela just smiles this sad empty smile, letting go of the paper in her hand as she reaches towards the album. She stops herself, drawing her hand back as the smile drops from her face.

"My heart has been broken many times leibling, by many people, some from within Overwatch. When we tell you not to get involved with her, Jack and I…we're talking from experience. She was special to me once too…which is why my judgement is so clouded on this. When she left, everyone mourned for the loss of Gerard…but no one seemed to understand we'd lost her too. I was the only one who seemed to mourn for my Amé"

Your eyes widen slightly as you hear the nickname. Widow said someone from her past called her Amé, but she couldn't possibly be talking about Angela…unless they definitely did mean a lot more to each other than anyone else could have ever known.

"Angie…" You say softly, not sure what the hell you're supposed to say to her. What are you exactly supposed to say when your best friend hits you with something like that? The implications behind her words are endless. That she loved Amelie, that she possibly loved someone else from within the organisation. And you don't even want to begin to wonder what she means about Jack Morrison.

"I've been ordered to keep you under close eye, to try stop you from leaving, until I can completely clear you, and get your word you won't chase after Widowmaker anymore…but I can't do that" she bites her lip, looking conflicted on what exactly to do before she looks back to you.

"Save her Lena. Lay low and sort things with Emily. But if Amelie comes to you again, please try and save her"

When you arrive back at your flat, it's quiet. Unbearably quiet in fact, something which isn't usual for your flat at all. There's normally always some noise, if that's the gradual build-up of the kettle, of the TV on quietly. Normally the first thing you hear is Emily humming or singing happily to herself in the kitchen. But today there is no noise, nothing at all. If you hadn't noticed Emily's shoes in the hallway by the door, you would have assumed she wasn't in.

You slowly make your way to the living room, feeling like a stranger in your own home. Everything feels so alien to you, like you've not been here for years, when in reality you've been away no longer than a week or so.

The living room is empty, no Emily in sight, which is strange because you sure didn't hear her in the kitchen. You walk over to the couch, a stab of pain in your heart as you look at the blanket folded up on the arm of it. On top of it lies a single piece of clothing, which you know is the shirt Emily had given to Widow to wear. You reach out to touch it, but stop. You don't want to ruin it, ruin the perfect image of her still being here, of everything being okay. But you have to, have to shatter that because really, that's reality now. She tried to kill you, was still under Talon's control after everything. You should hate her, shouldn't want anything to do with her, but of course you still do. You can't stop what your heart really wants, even if it isn't the right thing.

You leave the blanket alone, biting your lip as you turn away from the couch and start to head towards the bedroom. You take a deep breath, willing the tightness in your throat to go away as you take slow steady steps. You listen carefully, trying to hear if Emily is even home. You're about to give up and go make yourself a cup of tea while you wait for her, when you hear a noise from the bedroom.

"…Emily?" you call out cautiously, suddenly feeling nervous, and frankly a bit scared that it might not be her. You're on high alert after all that happened. After all, Talon could have sent more people to finish the job…or to do worse.

You gently push the bedroom door open, peering around it and almost sighing in relief with you see Emily's red hair sprawled out on the bed. She's just lying there staring at the ceiling, seeming to be completely lost in a day dream, which really you find a bit strange because it's your thing to daydream, not hers. Her eyes are red and puffy, it's obvious you've just walked in on her having a cry to herself.

"Lena!"

you expected her to be in a mood with you still, for her to at least sulk a bit, which is why when she practically throws herself into your arms, you're surprised to say the least. You stiffen for a moment, your arms stuck like you're frozen. Then reality comes back to you, and you sigh softly, your arms coming around her gently at first, until you tighten your grip.

"Hey Em, missed you" you murmur in her hair. She looks up at you. Her eyes looking so big an vulnerable from her position. You can see the hurt and relief in her eyes, and then when she smiles, they shift again to something you can't read. You find yourself smiling at her too, too caught up in the moment of having her in your arms once again. It makes you forget about everything that's been bothering you, her smile wiping all your worries away. But it doesn't last, of course it doesn't. After all, she is the one thing that is causing at least half of your worries. You thought she was upset with you, that she didn't want to talk to you after your argument. But here she is, in your arms smiling at you as if nothing is wrong. its surreal, incredible honestly that everything seems to be okay once again.

She senses your shift in mood and her smile falters, her eyes searching yours for a moment before she backs off slightly. "Lena" she starts softly, moving her hair out of her face as she meets your eyes once again "I'm sorry...I don't know what to say really apart from-"

"-Luv, it's alright. I should be the one apologisin' if anything"

She shakes her head roughly, her eyes now on her hands in her lap. You can't read her face at all, her hair obscuring your view. After a moment she sighs softly "No I...I know you Lena, know what you're like. Your impulsive, and wild, and sometimes even a bit stupid but- but that's why I love you" She pauses, taking a moment to collect her thoughts before she looks up at you "I know what this means to you, what she means to you...and I know you're not going to just give up on her because we've all told you to"

"Em..."

"No, I need to say it, to admit it to myself. It's hard for me to even say this but- but I get it Lena, I know you want- no need to save her, and just because I'm scared of the fact she's unpredictable and could hurt you again won't stop you, I know that"

The silence stretches out between you, both of you finally seeming to understand the others side. Emily has always been on your side no matter what, which is why it hurt so much when you argued about this. With your feelings so up in the air, and all these new revelations with Angie, you feel lost, confused. You have no idea what anything means anymore, but you know for sure Emily is, and always will be, the one constant in your life.

You find yourself reaching for Emily's hand unconsciously, a small smile pulling at her lips when her fingers brush against yours. "Em, I know I'm not the easiest to deal with. Hell, If I was you I'd have chucked me long ago, but...we're in this together, aren't we luv?"

You watch her as she seems to think on your statement, seeming to actually take what you're saying into account. You can't guarantee she will be with you forever, or even with you for this mission. but you hope she still wants to be. After all, the great Tracer always needs some help, and if that help is her girlfriend, then she's bound to be unstoppable, or so you'd like to think.

"I know how important this is, I mean I understand exactly why we- why you need to save her. But we can't do this alone. I'm with you, if you can work with Overwatch to help her. I don't want to find you half dead again because Talon still has its grip on her"

You stop for a moment, your thoughts all over the place as you try to process what she's said. A few weeks ago you would have never agreed to that, had to have given her the talk on why Overwatch can't know your secret mission...but now things are different, and maybe they actually could work. With Angela now on your side, even if working just with her, you could possibly make this work. Even if it means betraying Winston's trust, and disobeying orders from the higher ups. Surely they would be able to see past it if you did manage to take Talon's most valuable weapon away from them.

You're so distracted trying to fabricate a plan in your head, that you forget to even reply. It's not until Emily gives your hand a little squeeze and brings you back to reality, that you realize you've kept her waiting. You smile brightly at her, finally feeling like your old happy self once again. She seems a bit conflicted but slowly mirrors your big bright smile.

"Yeah luv, I think we can make this work"

For the next week, you spend as much time as you can trying to come up with a plan that even comes close to being functional. You don't have much success since you're being checked up on constantly by Winston and higher command, and you don't want to potentially get Angela in trouble while you have all this attention on you. You may be a bit ditzy, but you're not so stupid to start openly discussing things you promised you wouldn't with Angela when they're monitoring all your communications with every team member.

To distract yourself from your frustrating lack of progress, you focus on Emily instead. Mostly because you need to keep your head distracted from the worry that there's been radio silence from Talon for several weeks now. And because honestly, Emily deserves some attention to make it up to her for how weird you've been recently. So, you take her out on dates, to the park, to the pictures, anywhere she fancies. You even let her drag you along to some boring journalism exhibition, just because you know it means a lot to her.

By your tenth day home, you're used to your routine of spending the day out with Emily. Or picking her up after work and spending the evening together. Your check ins with Winston or Angela happen every second day, which is why when you and Emily are just getting in after having a wonder around the shops, you aren't surprised at all to feel your phone buzzing in your pocket.

Emily notices you pulling the phone out your pocket and immediately understands, giving you the bags in her hands and saying she'll join you with a cuppa in five minutes. You smile, turning to give her a quick kiss before making your way to the living room and plopping yourself down on the couch as you answer the call.

"Alright luv?"

The line is quiet for a moment, and you wonder if the signal is playing up again, or maybe that you've somehow muted it. You take the phone away from your ear and look at the screen, pressing the speaker icon just in case it's your phone acting up. There's still silence, and for some reason that really unnerves you.

"Uh, big guy, Angie...hello?"

"Hola, Tracer"

You freeze, your heart feeling as if it's almost stopped when you hear an all too familiar voice now coming through the device. "...Sombra?"

"Long time no see, Speedy"

"Would ask how ya got this number but- I know how you work, you can hack anything"

"Got that right. Your texts to Emily are adorable to read still"

You groan loudly "Will you stop doing that!"

"Okay okay, geez you're no fun"

You're about to reply when you see Emily coming into the room carrying two mugs. She looks at you cautiously, obviously having heard Sombra's voice and wanting to make sure you're both safe. When she see's you sitting on the couch with your phone on speaker on the table, she relaxes slightly and makes her way over.

"Sombra" she greets softly, handing you a mug while she places her own on the table and glances at the phone.

"Ah, the other girlfriend, was wondering where you'd gone"

"We're not-" you start, seeing how Emily tenses at even mentioning Widow.

"-Yeah, right, I know speedy. You don't even want to know what's been going on around here with that"

You look over to Emily, expecting her to be rolling her eyes, or doing something in response to Sombra's comment, but she's just staring at the phone, looking lost in thought.

"You're calling about her, aren't you?" she says suddenly, apparently catching both you and Sombra off guard.

"You are the smart one. Yeah, wish this could be a nice catch up call but...Our little spider's in danger"

There's a small tense silence, your eyes widening slightly when you realize what she means. Emily beats you too it, suddenly seeming a lot more interested.

"...Sombra, what's going on?"

"After she- well you know, they flipped her switch, she was picked up by that edgy bastard Reaper. All he did was go on about how he was right, and he knew there was something she was hiding. Blueberry she...she didn't say much, just stayed quiet. I didn't even get a chance to talk to her until they finished interrogating her"

"Wait, so they know 'bout her-"

"-Not quite, they know her kill switch still works, but they don't know who she was with when they flipped it. I covered it up, made some bullshit news article about her harming a couple of civilians"

"...You covered for us?" you ask uncertainly, not sure what to think of her words. You didn't think you'd ever trust her, always thought her agenda was way too ambiguous. But now...now you don't really know what to make of all this.

"Of course I did speedy, She's the closest thing I've had to a friend in a long time. And Talon...they deserve all this shit after what they've done. I mean, they're even trying to catch me at it!"

"But we're- I mean I'm in overwatch and I'm, you know, supposed to be like your enemy 'nd that?"

"You think I want Talon to complete their goals? To go around kidnapping people and using them? No way. They give me strong connections, and the means to do what I want. The only reason I ever shoot at you on the battlefield is to get them off my back"

"Thanks, Sombra, we appreciate it" Emily says softly, a strange look on her face. She sounds so kind and gentle, but her expression is something confusing, something you don't think you've seen before.

"Look...I know things must be fucking awful after what she did, but she needs your help. I can only cover for her while she's here...but…"

"Wait, what do you mean?" you ask, the sudden panic gripping your chest once again.

"She hasn't checked in with control for 24 hours, not like her when she's on a mission, never mind when she's in this mindset. At last contact she was on a mission in your neck of the woods. She could just be taking a page out of Reaper's book and being edgy and mysterious, but that isn't quite her style"

"You think something's happened to her?" Emily asks, leaning towards the phone slightly as her brow furrows.

"It could have. I just know if she doesn't check in soon, Talon are going to storm the area, and that could end badly for you"

"Got it, I'll find her" You say, already standing up and going to grab your gear.

"Speedy, wait" she hesitates, you can only imagine how this must be for her. She's stuck there, trying her best to help her friend but never actual able to go out and help like she wants. "Let me know if you find her...I can try write in another mission for her to give you some time"

"Aw, I didn't know you cared so much Sombra"

"Or I could reveal your search history to the public and bring Overwatch down for a second time"

Although you know she can't see it, you stick your finger up at the phone playfully before ending the call. Emily remains quiet beside you, seemingly oblivious to your banter with Sombra. She's staring at her hands again, nervously fidgeting with the bracelet you bought her on your shopping trip today. You obviously know something is wrong, but you don't really want to bring attention to it. You know it's about Widow, and as bad as it sounds, you don't have the time or energy to argue with her about it.

It's never been easy admitting to yourself that you could have feelings for anyone other than Emily, and even harder admitting that to her. When you first got together you nearly had a third member in your relationship, but it quickly fizzled out, and it was just you two again. Back then there wasn't enough time to get attached, but with Widow now, you know you're both more than just attached.

"Em...I have to-"

"-Lena, I know. Go find her and let me- I mean, let Sombra know she's safe" she says with a smile that doesn't reach her eyes. You know she doesn't want you going out, doesn't want you putting yourself in danger, but you both know you care about widow too much, and want to help Sombra out. Even if not for Sombra, she is right that Talon sniffing around means trouble for everyone, especially with your recent circumstances.

There's this tiny voice at the back of your head telling you finding her is a mistake, that finding her only connects you to Talon further, and maybe Talon agents hanging around won't be so bad. And most importantly, Emily won't be looking at you with such a sad look if you don't go. But you have to, you can't just walk away from this. After all, you do still owe Sombra for saving you from Reaper.

You want to say something more to Emily, but she's already picked up her phone and is looking at something. You know you can't say anything to help, anything that will make things better. So you go, giving her one last look before you head out the door.

You half-heartedly scout around the area, not really paying much attention to your surroundings as you have other things on your mind. You don't know when it happened, but before you realize, you're sitting on a rooftop just looking out over the neighbourhood. You need a moment of stillness, something to ground you back to reality and distract you from all your thoughts. To say your head is a mess is a huge understatement.

So you sit there, you sit for who knows how long just watching the lights of the city and the odd couple who wonder along. You sit and you think over everything that's happened. Everything with Widow, with Emily, even with Angela. You just can't get your head around it all, get your head around how Widow so easily turned on you, how Angela who was so against you even talking to Widow now wants you to save her. And most importantly, how Emily gave up on Widow and now doesn't know how to act about all of this. You can close your eyes and pretend everything is fine. Sit on this rooftop forever and not go back to this complicated situation you've found yourself in. But you know deep down you have to, that although it's tough, you want all of this. That makes you feel even worse, knowing you want something you potentially can never have.

You sigh softly, your eyes flickering down to the alley below as you think about how you really should be getting home. That is, until you notice something glinting in the light. You stay still, watching it carefully trying to determine what it is. If you didn't know better, you'd say it looks like... "No way" you half whisper to yourself, getting up from your spot and looking for the safest way down off of the roof.

A few tumbles and choice swear words later, you're on the ground. You find yourself faltering as you get closer, not wanting to get your hopes up for what could just be a cats collar reflecting in the moonlight. You take a quick breath and round the corner, making your way into the dimly let alleyway. The hairs on the back of your neck stand on end as you hear a sound not far away from you. It's quiet, the whole world seeming to freeze around you as you hear a small groan.

"H-Hello?" you ask loudly, your voice echoing harshly off the walls around you. At first you don't hear or see anything. You're about to lecture yourself for getting scared over nothing when you hear it.

"Cherie..."

You're stuck in place, eyes quickly darting around the dark to try find the source of the noise. You know her voice, would know it from anywhere. You're about to speak again when you see a movement on the ground to your left. You quickly rush over, not caring if it's a trap. You can't just ignore her, even if she did try to kill you mere weeks ago. When you reach her, you get your phone out for some light, trying hard to hold back a gasp when you see her blood covered limbs. She's panting lightly, her arm wrapped around her middle where you can see even more blood seeping from beneath her fingers. You want to scream, to wipe the image from your brain forever, but you can't. You can't stop staring at her, staring at her pain contorted face as she tries to meet your eyes.

"Bloody hell" you say lamely, wanting to slap yourself for sounding so stupid. She tries to smile, grimacing again at the pain. She looks like she wants to say something, but doesn't. You take that as your cue to crouch down next to her and try figure out the extent of her injuries. She has cuts on her arms, and a large possible stab wound on her side that she's currently trying to clutch at. It takes some convincing from you to get her to even move her hand to show you the wound. You look at her, searching her face for some answer of what the hell happened.

"I was ambushed" she says softly, not able to meet your eyes "This is not like me, I know. They cornered me, cut me down...I've been waiting for death as it's the most merciless way out of this"

"You can't say that luv!" you find yourself almost shouting at her. She seems taken aback, surprised at your strong reaction. You think she might try to tease you about it, but she doesn't, just looks away.

"I am better off dead Lena, you have to know that. Talon cannot use me if my heart does not beat"

"Hey shut up! you are not goin' to die, not on my watch!"

"Cherie-"

"-No, I'm going to save you, I have to I-" you cut yourself off with a sob, surprising both you and Widow. Her expression softens then, she has this look in her eye you've seen before. You roughly rub your tears away, hating to look so childish in front of her by crying out of frustration. You don't expect to feel her hand over yours, your eyes widening as they meet hers. She has a soft smile on her face, and you're not sure if its genuine affection or if she's out of it from the blood loss.

"Such a foolish girl, crying over your enemy's death"

You want to tell her to shut up, to stop making fun of you, but you can't. You know she's teasing you, and for some reason it fills you with such a warm loved feeling. That warmth is quickly replaced by the sinking of your heart as you notice her losing consciousness. It's like your mind suddenly snaps back to reality and you're suddenly aware that you're watching her slowly die in a dark alleyway. Without much thought, you try to get her up, leaning most her weight on you and make a dash for home, blinking there as fast as your accelerator lets you.

You're not thinking straight, just trying to get her to safety as soon as possible. Emily's yelp of surprise when you shoulder charge the door and nearly rip it off its hinges makes you stop and look around. You're standing in your hallway, Emily looking almost terrified as she just stares at you.

"Em! Thank god you're still awake. She needs-"

"-What is she doing here?"

Her voice is low, her eyes not meeting yours as she just continues to stare at the pretty much dead weight leaning against your side. You don't know what is going on with her, and honestly you don't care. You need her help, you need her to call Angie, or do something to help. You don't expect to feel hot anger beginning to bubble in your stomach as you look at her, but it does. Your mind is only occupied with how to save Widow's life, and With Emily acting as she is, it makes you irrationally angry.

"I found her like this. We need someone to do something!"

She's just quiet, just staring at you. You can't read her at all, and that just infuriates you more.

"Emily! will you bloody do something!"

"No, I- I can't Lena"

You don't think, you can't. Your thoughts are running way to fast to even think about what's coming out your mouth. You have to help her, you just have to. "What do you mean you can't? she's dying Em, we need to help her!"

"I can't. She- she hurt you, what if she hurts you again. I...I can't just-"

"-For fucks sake Em!" you shout, watching her flinch slightly at the loudness. You look away from her, eyes desperately scanning the room as you try to figure out what you should do. Emily's looking down when your eyes land on her again, she looks conflicted, definitely having some sort of inner turmoil.

You push past her, practically dragging Widow behind you now as she seems to be close to complete unconsciousness now. You make it to the bathroom before trying to place her down as gently as you can. She's way too tall and heavy for you to do it gracefully, and you cringe a bit when she hits the ground just a little bit harder than necessary. You get to work trying to find anything to stop the bleeding and help. You know very little first aid but you know enough from having Angela lecturing you while dressing your many wounds you've gotten over the years.

You see Emily shuffling to watch you from the doorway out of the corner of your eye as you throw something across the room while searching for your first aid kit.

"...It's in the cupboard, under the sink" Emily says softly, crossing her arms across her chest as she still can't meet your gaze.

"If you would help, maybe I would find it quicker" you snap at her, not really caring if you hurt her now. You're too preoccupied, too set on saving someone elses life. This probably makes you an asshole, and you know you'll need to apologise for this later. But just now, you just do not care.

After some more digging you eventually find the kit, quickly going over what the hell you need to do. Emily see's the panic in your eyes, and after some hesitation, she places her hand over yours. Your eye snap to hers, and she gives you a sad smile taking it out of your hands "You're too clumsy to patch her up Len, Just help me clean her up a bit"

You watch her move quickly, checking Widow's wounds and doing everything she can to help the poor assassin. When she's done, she stands back with a sigh, looking incredibly conflicted before she averts her gaze to the floor. She really isn't acting like herself. Your happy and optimistic Emily has turned into this strange shell of herself. You don't know what to think of it, what it even means.

Eventually, she speaks again, not meeting your eyes "She can't stay Lena, it isn't safe"

"Huh?"

"She- look I know you want to help her- and we have. But she can't stay, we can't fully trust her yet"

The irrational anger you're becoming so accustomed to rears its ugly head as you look at her. "Em, look at her! We can't just leave her out in the street to die!"

"If we tell Sombra we've found her maybe Talon will come pick her up, or-"

"-Or what? what if they don't and she dies 'cause you were too scared to trust her?"

You see something in her eyes, you don't know what it is, but its a look you don't understand. "How am I supposed to trust her when she tried to kill you Lena? I just can't, I'm not ready yet"

"Oh really, is it that hard for you" You practically sneer at her "All you have to do is back me up here"

"It isn't just about backing you up its-"

"-It's what Em? Just because you're scared of what she's done, for her mistakes in the past"

"Lena, please, don't do this now. You nearly died and I- I, you just can't understand-"

"-No, you can't understand!" You shout, not caring how startled she looks at your outburst "You can't even begin to understand how this feels to see her like this-"

"-Of course I understand, I love her too!"

Your reply dies on your tongue as your eyes widen. She's glaring at you hard, her breath slightly ragged from how worked up about this she is. You've imagined this moment many times, finally talking about how you both feel, but you never imagined it would happen like this.

"Em..."

She sighs softly, her gaze flickering to Widow before it lands back on you "I didn't think I'd ever be in the situation where this could happen. where I could love both of you. And then for that love and trust to be ripped away. I don't know if I can do it Lena, it hurts too much to even think about. My heart says that I need to help her, to keep her safe, but my head says something completely different"

"Em, Luv...I'm so sorry" you almost whisper, suddenly not being able to meet her eyes. Of course she's acting this way for the exact same reason as to why you're so defensive about this. You love Widow, and she does too. You want to save her, and so does Emily, but she's more scared than you about it all. She's not as brave as she's been pretending to be all this time, of course she isn't.

Emily sighs once again, seeming to gather all her courage before coming closer to Widow again and looking over her injuries "She should be okay, the wound on her side here" she says, her fingers hovering just above her skin, almost seeming too scared to touch "It isn't as bad as it looked at first"

"She wanted to die, luv" you say softly, sitting cross legged on the floor next to where Emily is crouched. "Said she'd be better off dead" You want to reach out and touch Widow, check her skin is still warm under your touch, but you know there's no need. You shouldn't need excuses to touch her, yet you still feel you do.

Emily doesn't say anything for a moment, her eyes still just looking over Widow's features. "She probably blames herself, thinks it's her fault for what happened to you"

"Do ya think it's her fault?" you ask softly, knowing exactly what rests on her answer.

She simply shakes her head, her gaze finally landing back on you. The look she's giving you is almost empty, this sadness just shining in her eyes.

"It would be unfair to blame her fully. They've messed with her head, she can't stop them..." she pauses, seeming to think on it for a moment "I'm just scared Lena. I don't want them to hurt her...but she also hurt you and now- god, I don't know what I'm supposed to feel or think"

You watch almost speechless as a tear makes its way silently down her cheek. You want to reach out, to hold her and tell her everything will be okay. But really you don't know if it will ever be okay again. Like yeah, you saved Widow's life tonight, but can you really keep her safe. Even with your combined efforts with Sombra, you don't know if she'll ever be safe while Talon still stands, and you have no idea how the hell you're going to take them down.

"Hey, Em, luv...We can do it, keep her safe 'nd that" you say gently, trying to reassure yourself with your own words, never mind her. She just looks at you, not looking convinced at all.

"And what if that's not enough? We can't make this work if she's still under their control. We can't just-"

You wrap your arms around her in a tight hug, cutting her off as her eyes widen slightly, obviously not expecting the contact. It takes a moment before you feel her relax, her arms coming to rest around you gently. You don't know what to say to make this all better, to reassure her this can all work out, especially when you feel so unsure about it all yourself.

"We'll be okay Em...all of us will"


End file.
